


Wheels on Ice Timestamps

by kalkoenvsneoklak



Series: Wheels on Ice Verse [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-20 02:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11327010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalkoenvsneoklak/pseuds/kalkoenvsneoklak
Summary: What happens after Dean surprises Castiel in Shanghai





	1. After Shanghai

**Author's Note:**

> I've been struggling for months with finishing this story. I felt somehow that, after the first part, it was ready to be over. But then I wanted Cas to win the Olympics, and Dean to win his competitions, and somehow I never managed to build to it. So instead I decided to end the story after Shanghai with one more epilogue, and put the other chapters afterwards in this work.   
> I'm sorry for the confusion, i just felt like I was ruining the build-up of the story a bit by putting chapter after chapter. In this one, there might be a few more timestamps if I ever get inspiration for it, but the original story will end with 14 chapters :-)

Dean has managed to dodge the camera’s well enough.

Or rather, Cas practically pushed Dean somewhere at the sides, told him to stay put, and then went to answer some questions from multiple interviewers. Crowley is standing next to him the entire time, keeping Cas in check whenever his mind seems to wander all the way back to Dean.

They had been sitting together while waiting for the results. Cas was sitting in the middle, with Crowley on his right and Dean on his left. Despite the camera’s thrown in their faces, Dean had kept calm the entire time Cas’ hand was in his own. When, afterwards, it was announced that he had scored 93.82, he had thrown his arms around Cas and the two had hugged for a long time.

Dean smiles as he thinks back to that now. The way Cas is now, so happy and completely in his element, is enough for Dean to know that every single thought he had about retiring is now gone. Cas has found his enthusiasm again, which is all Dean could have asked for right now.

By the time Cas is finished with the last interview, two more skaters have finished their programs. So far, Cas is still first. Dean hopes that doesn’t change, soon. As Cas walks back to him, Dean holds out his hand again just like he always does when he’s on the ice. Cas smiles and reaches out as well. Once their fingers touch, something warm passes through Dean.

“If it isn’t my champion,” Dean hears himself saying, not believing how disgustingly sappy that sounds. Cas blushes, lifts up Dean’s hand and puts his knuckles against his lips as he presses a light kiss on it.

“We still need to talk,” Cas says, and Dean nods. Will they do that here, right now? Or will they wait until they’re at the hotel? And what hotel will that even be? Dean’s stuff is still in the crappy place he stayed over at, after all. He’ll need to go and get it, for sure.

“I know,” Dean responds. When Cas comes to stand right in front of him, Dean can’t help but wrap his arms around him. Cas simply rests his head on Dean’s chest. Maybe one or two cameras catch the moment, but other than that, the rest is busy interviewing other people.

“Tomorrow, after everything is over, there’ll be a banquet. Will you come with me?” Cas asks quietly while looking up a little bit. Dean smiles widely, and then nods.

“Of course I will,” Dean answers.

It should be strange how comfortable Dean is already with feeling Cas so close against him. Two days ago, even the idea of just touching Cas’ hand brought him into panic mode, despite having held his (gloved) hand multiple times already. Right now, though, after having traveled to an entire other country, Dean realizes that he doesn’t want to waste any more time, which is probably why he finds it so easy to offer Cas small kisses on his own hands, or offer him a small peck on his cheek.

The way they’re behaving, one would say they’ve been together for a while already. Maybe that’s what other’s think, as well. Would they be surprised if Dean told them that, no, they in fact only got together literally twenty minutes ago?

After the first half, Cas and Dean decide to go on the tribunes to have a better look over the other contestants. They stay close together as they walk down the stairs, but Cas still goes to shake some hands, take some pictures and sign some of the people’s programs. One girl even asked to get a picture with both him and Dean, much to Dean’s surprise. He didn’t refuse, though, feeling actually quite flattered.

Eventually, they take a seat somewhere in the front row – Dean took them there because he knew there were free spots. People are staring at them, and even a few cameras seem to be pointed at them, but both men just ignore it, instead looking at the next skaters. As they come up, Cas talks about who it is, and sometimes manages to bring up whether they’re nice company or not. The way he describes it, it seems like everybody manages to get along just fine, but there are a few of them that don’t join in on social interaction.

They’re not holding hands this time, but their shoulders are pressed together and the sides of their legs are constantly touching. Sometimes, Dean can’t resist the urge to just hold his face close to Cas’, and once in a while he goes to press a light kiss on Cas’ cheek. After a little while, though, Cas seems to be getting enough of it and instead claims a longer kiss on the lips.

“I can get used to this,” Cas whispers when he pulls back. Both men start laughing after that. Do they even still need to talk? Things seem to be already fine, right now?

But no, things aren’t that easy. They need to be on the same page for things to work out. They need to know what works for the other, and where their limits are.

The first part of the competition eventually finishes three hours after starting, and Cas is still first, much to nobody’s surprise. When they try to get away from the tribunes, they’re approached by a few more fans.

Not too far away, Dean recognizes Yàn and Meihui. They seem to be actively looking for him, probably hoping to get a chance to talk to Cas. Dean figures they’ve helped them enough to at least deserve that.

Dean waves at the two, and they see that as a confirmation to approach them. Next to Dean, Cas hands back somebody’s pen and thanks them for rooting for him. Dean wraps his arm around the other man’s waist once he stands up again, safely next to Dean.

“Here are some people I want you to meet,” Dean says to him quietly, nodding towards the two approaching figures. Cas frowns for a moment, but he doesn’t look upset, instead just curious.

Yàn seems to have no trouble in controlling himself. Meihui, on the other hand, looks like she’s close to pass out on the floor. She’s biting her lip when she stands face to face with Cas, and a loud, high-pitched noise escapes her mouth.

“Cas, these are Yàn and his girlfriend Meihui. They’ve helped me getting here when nobody else would,” Dean says, pointing at the two figures in front of them. Cas’ mouth falls open in understanding, and then he bows his head a little bit to both of them. Cas doesn’t need to know that Meihui didn’t actually help since she only arrived towards the end, it’s not _that_ important, anyway.

“It turns out I have to thank you, then,” Cas says politely. Meihui makes another high noise. Yàn just chuckles.

“It was no trouble. From one inline skater to the other, you know. We guys help each other,” Yàn says while winking at Dean. The other man chuckles and nods.

“Yeah, we got each other’s backs,” he responds to that. Yàn then holds up his fist, and Dean presses his own against it, recognizing the gesture from the teenagers at the skating club. Meihui then asks for a picture with Cas, which the man accepts. Yàn gets a phone pressed in his hands, and when Meihui comes to stand awkwardly next to Cas, the man instead throws his arm over her shoulder and presses her closer to him. Yàn takes the picture right before Meihui actually starts crying.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Meihui repeats time after time, hugging Cas tightly. Dean smiles at his partner when he throws him a touched look. It must be great, to inspire someone so much that they would react like this.

Yàn barely manages to take Meihui away again, but when he does, the two couples wave at each other for a long time. Once they’re out of sight, Cas and Dean, too, decide it’s time to head out as well. Crowley is probably already waiting for Cas’ return, and Cas explains that there will be a few more interviews that need to be taken, but that it won’t take too long.

True to his word, Cas finishes the last interview only ten minutes after he started. The rest of the questions are given to Crowley, instead. Cas nods towards Dean, who had been standing at the sides, far enough away for the press not to notice him. Dean takes over Cas’ bag with skates, and then offers him his hand again. Together, the two walk out of the Sport’s center.

“Where’s your stuff?” Cas asks when they start walking towards a few parked taxis.

“At my hotel, it’s about thirty minutes driving from here, I think,” Dean says, and Cas nods as he motions towards the driver that he wants to get in. After asking where they need to go, Dean offers the man the address. The driver nods, and starts the meter before driving forward, onto the street.

“What about Crowley?” Dean then asks, wondering if the two have always been so distant together.

“Eh, he’s a good coach, but he’s terrible company. He’ll get himself back to the hotel,” Cas answers, leaning a bit against Dean’s side. It makes the other man smile a bit as he, in turn, rests his own head on top of Cas’.

“I was really worried I wouldn’t get to you in time,” Dean says when they’ve passed a few streets. Cas stays quiet, but Dean knows he’s listening. “We need to work on you being able to skate without me again, though. I don’t think I can come to _every_ competition you’ll have. I’ll probably have trouble with work as it is when I come back…”

“I know,” Cas answers. He lets out a long sigh and snuggles a bit closer to Dean. “If I could do it before, I can do it, still.”

Dean nods. He takes a deep breath, lifting Cas’ head against his chest along with it. “Listen, I’m sorry about… you know, leaving you out there that one evening.”

Cas doesn’t say anything, but Dean is sure he remembers it well enough.

“There was just… too much happening too soon, and I guess I just panicked,” Dean offers.

“You panicked when you kissed me?” Cas asks, sounding unimpressed by it. Dean clears his throat.

“Yeah, well, I _was_ making out with my friend, who also happens to be a guy, forgive me if I wasn’t quite ready for that revelation when you threw yourself at me,” Dean counters. Cas then pulls his head away and frowns.

“I didn’t throw myself at you? I just told you how I felt. You initiated the kiss just as much as I did.” Cas looks a bit annoyed from where this conversation is going, so Dean just takes his hand into his own and squeezes his fingers a bit.

“I know, it was just… an expression,” Dean says with a light shrug. Cas’ frown doesn’t go away, but he does lean forward a little bit again to rest his head against Dean’s shoulder. The two take a long breath, and simultaneously they start watching outside the window.

There’s quite a lot of traffic right now. The cab they’re currently in seems to be stuck behind another one, since they’re barely moving. Great, Dean doesn’t even know what the plan is right now; are they going to get Dean’s stuff and move everything back to Cas’ place, or is Cas going to leave him there? It might be a bit early for them to share a room together already, but to be really honest, Dean wouldn’t mind at all. It’s not like he’s planning to do anything with Cas anyway, and he knows well enough – or at least a little bit – that Cas might not be interested in anything like that.

“Cas, what do you want us to talk about?” Dean eventually asks when he figures it’ll take a while for them to reach the crappy little hotel. “I mean, you’re the one who ended up hurt a few days ago. If you have a few things to say to me, you should better say them now.”

Cas turns his head from the window to look back at Dean. His lips are pressed shut, but his eyes make it clear that he’s thinking.

“I guess I just want to know what I should expect from you from now on?” Cas eventually explains. His eyes stay on Dean, expression staying neutral the entire time. “What are we to each other? Should I expect you to run again, soon?”

“No! Of course not!” Dean calls out a bit too loud, and he notices the driver looking up a bit. Then the man seems to understand that the conversation is not for his ears, and he turns up the radio. Dean gives him a thankful nod. In a lower voice, he continues, “I won’t run, I swear. At least, I’ll try my best not to. I’ll communicate if things are getting a bit too much, promise.”

Cas nods as Dean answers the last question. Now there’s the matter of the first one.

“And, uh… if you still want me… I think we should start this thing slow, no? Maybe I should just… take you out on a date tonight?” Cas’ lips curl up in an obvious smile at that. Dean’s heart melts upon the sight, and there’s a strong urge to just wrap Cas in his arms and never let go.

When did he turn into such a sap?

“A date sounds perfect,” Cas agrees. Eventually, he holds out his hand for Dean to hold. The other man does just that, looking down at their touching fingers. “As for taking things slow; I hope you do realize I’m not planning on letting you stay in a different hotel from mine tonight?”

“As long as you realize that I’m not expecting anything from you tonight… In _that_ way,” Dean counters, and Cas looks satisfied with that answer.

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas says, seeming extremely happy at being understood like that. Dean just wouldn’t want Cas to feel pressured into doing things he isn’t ready to do. As long as Cas isn’t ready, Dean will keep himself in check. He’s managed for a while now, surely a few more months won’t hurt.

They arrive at Dean’s hotel about half an hour later. They pack up Dean’s stuff, take the same cab back to Cas’ place, and after dropping Dean’s belongings in Cas’ room, they agree to get dinner.

It’s fun, and light, and Dean has probably not laughed that much in years. Even though he knows Cas quite a lot already, there’s still things he learns. After dinner, the two simply head back to the room and get to bed, since Cas wants to get fully rested for his Free Skate tomorrow.

The next day, Cas gets to perform last. The reporters have left Dean pretty much alone since he’s been keeping his distance, but the moment Cas gets off the ice, hears the results that get him in first place for the sixth year in a row, and a complete total of seven times, lots of microphones are pushed in Dean’s face, asking for his reaction.

When they ask Dean what exactly his relationship with Cas is, both men _publicly_ announce that they’re together – well mostly it’s Cas calling Dean his boyfriend, but in any way, it’s out there now.

And the best part about it? There isn’t even a slightest bit of panic inside of Dean.

 

* * *

 

 

Sam is there when they land in the airport of California.

It’s been quite a spontaneous decision that Cas would join Dean to Sam’s place, where the two of them would get their hours back to regular before making the drive back to Pontiac. Crowley has complained about having to take a plane alone, of course, but Cas didn’t really seem to care.

Whatever _their_ relationship is, Dean would probably never understand. Most of the time it seems like the two of them can’t really stand each other at all. It’s a wonder they’ve managed together for this long already.

Once he sees his brother standing there, Dean wraps him in a strong hug. After letting go, Cas and Sam shake hands. They get introduced to each other by Dean, and both men seem happy to finally meet.

“So, your reunion was quite the thing,” Sam says when they’re waiting for their luggage. The two  have been so busy with each other that they hadn’t even bothered to check the internet for a few days. Dean has mostly ignored his cell when he got annoying messages from Jimmy who kept on teasing him for being in a literal chick flick.

“Don’t tell me they were filming that?” Dean asks, looking at his brother in horror. Cas doesn’t seem _too_ concerned about it, though.

“Well, yeah, the guy practically threw himself in your arms. It was quite hard to miss.”

“Have they no shame?” Dean asks in annoyance. “It’s a coverage about _sports_ , not the skater’s love life!”

Cas just chuckles next to him and takes out his bag once it arrives. Dean waits for a little while longer. “Well, even if we _were_ trying to keep things hidden, I still might have introduced Dean as my boyfriend after getting my results.”

“Yeah, about that, congratulations man! Your seventh time as a World Champion? That’s quite impressive!” Sam punches Cas lightly in the arm, and the skater looks down with a blush on his face.

“Thank you,” Cas says. Dean is just glad that the attention is no longer on them two being together. After retrieving his own bag, he follows Sam back towards his car. Cas, of course, recognizes the Impala immediately. Sam doesn’t know that, so he points towards their direction.

“Dean’s car is there,” Sam says, pointing at Dean’s beautiful Baby. Cas nods.

“I know, I saw it immediately,” Cas says, giving Sam a short smile. Then he quickens his step, leaving Sam and Dean behind him as he hurries towards the parked car. Dean just pokes Sam in the side.

“That’s not just my car, bitch. That’s my baby,” he jokes before following Cas. He can hear Sam chuckle behind him, which is a relief. Dean _did_ bail out on their week together to get Cas back. It would be weird if Sam would be angry about that, but it’s still nice to see that it’s still not the case.

Jessica greets Cas as if they’ve known each other all their lives. The two get along just fine, and before crashing into their beds, the two pairs get back to the same restaurant they want to at the beginning of the week.

This time, the seat next to Dean’s isn’t empty, and things feel complete. And even though they keep themselves in with the touching and handholding, the smile Cas offers Dean each time they look at each other is just enough for him.

 

* * *

 

 

Cas is staring at him.

Dean has been aware of that for the past ten minutes or so. He’s behind the wheel, not removing his eyes from the road and keeping his hands steady. The music is turned up on a moderate volume, and next to him, Cas is, as previously mentioned, staring.

“Is there something you want to say?” Dean asks without turning his head. There’s a chuckle on his right.

“You’re a good driver,” Cas then finally says. Dean snorts, taking one hand off the wheel to put it on Cas’ leg, not pulling away when Cas puts his own on top of it.

“We’ve been on the road for a little more than thirty hours, and you only notice this now?” Dean jokes. He can almost feel Cas roll his eyes next to him, smiling even wider when the man tangles his fingers with Dean’s.

“I’ve been thinking,” Cas starts, and Dean wants to interrupt him there, but he doesn’t know what joke to use so he just stays quiet instead. “You’re a good driver, and I don’t have my driver’s license.”

“What, you want to hire me to become your personal chauffeur?” Dean interrupts. He gets a light punch in the arm for that.

“No, I want you to teach me how to drive,” Cas clarifies. It should have been obvious, though. “I’ll get my learner’s permit, and-“

“Hold on a minute, babe, do you even have a car to practice in?” Dean stops him there. Cas stays quiet after that, which Dean takes as a no. “Seriously, Cas, even if we would have been married for twenty years, I still wouldn’t let you _learn_ to drive in my Baby.”

“Well, I _do_ have a car, if you really want to know,” Cas mumbles. Dean raises his eyebrows then, feeling the slight tension going between. The entire drive had been easy going, but it was bound to happen that they wouldn’t agree on _everything_.

“Awesome, then we’ll start with that one. Once you got your permit, I’ll consider letting you drive in Baby.”

“Sure, but, my car isn’t exactly… ready for driving?”

Dean sighs; of course it isn’t that easy. He squeezes Cas’ fingers once before lifting his hand up towards his lips. He presses a small kiss on Cas’ knuckles.

“What’s the issue?” he asks. Cas just clears his throat.

“Well, uh, it was once my uncle’s car, but when he died he passed it on to my parents. They already had a car, so they offered it to Jimmy and I, but Jimmy didn’t want it.”

“Why didn’t he want it?” Dean wonders, thinking back of Jimmy’s junk-car. Cas just shrugs.

“He… might think it’s ‘so ugly as shit on wheels, Hell doesn’t even want it’,” Cas says uncomfortably. Dean snorts, perfectly able to imagine Jimmy saying something like that. When Dean turns into his own street, he pulls his hand back. Cas only clears his throat and starts looking out of the window again.

“I’m sure it can’t be _that_ bad,” Dean assures him. He’s sure he’ll see it soon enough, but not today. Today, all he wants to do is carry his shit inside and pull his still-new boyfriend into his bed to catch up on some well-deserved sleep.

Dean thinks back of all the nights they’ve spent together now. So far, they’ve always shared their beds, not even bothering to get two singles in the motel they stopped at halfway on their trip back. What he’s learned in that time is that Cas is like a leech; once he attaches himself to you during his sleep, he wouldn’t let go. At all.

But it’s not like Dean doesn’t like that. It might have been a secret guilty pleasure of his; snuggling together in bed after another great session of sex. Of course, there’s no sex involved, so far.

Yeah, they might need to talk about that, soon, right? Dean just needs to know what Cas’ limits are; how far can Dean go? Are they _ever_ going to have sex? True, so far the thought hasn’t really occurred to him, not even when they’re lying together, Cas back pressed tightly against Dean’s chest, Dean’s arms wrapped around Cas’ stomach, Cas holding on to Dean’s hands…

No, that’s probably not the best thing to bring up now, right? Maybe wait until they’re at least together for a month or something. It’s only been a few days now. It’s best not to rush things.

Dean takes Cas’ bag along with his own, and just hands Cas the keys to the house. The other man doesn’t say anything at all, as if it’s all just routine for them already. They’re both yawning, ready to just relax a bit in the couch and probably just fall asleep in the middle of a movie.

“Dean, did you leave the lights on the entire time?” Cas suddenly asks, and Dean looks up in surprise, quickly following Cas inside the house. There he can see that, indeed, some lights are still on.

“Crap, I was sure I turned everything off,” Dean mutters, dropping the bags in the hallway and intending on forgetting about them until at least tomorrow. Bobby had been kind enough to offer him at least one more free day before he has to get back to work – a few days later than expected. Surely, Dean owes the old man, now.

When Cas enters the living room, Dean quietly follows, rubbing his eyes and yawning one more time, only louder now. But then he turns on the light, and noise seems to come from everywhere.

People are shouting things, and Dean can make out ‘SURPRISE’, ‘CONGRATULATIONS’ and ‘WELCOME BACK’. There are multiple people standing in his living room, throwing confetti in Cas’ direction, but most of it is instead landing on Dean. All over the walls are multiple party decorations.

“What the-?” Dean asks, but he stops when he sees Jimmy and Amelia standing there, grinning widely at them both. Dean rolls his eyes and crosses his arms together. “You sneaky bastards.”

“It’s tradition that Cas gets a party per competition he wins, but since you guys weren’t planning on going to the Roadhouse tonight, we had to improvise a little bit,” Charlie says from next to Dean. Then suddenly her arms are wrapped around him in a tight hug for a few seconds before she moves to Cas. “Man, I’m so happy for you two! Finally together! I should say, I think everybody saw it happening before you two did.”

Dean opens his mouth to say something in return, but he finds that he can’t speak. Cas seems to be just as speechless as him, with reddened cheeks from embarrassment. Though the amount of visitors is still limited to about ten people, it feels like it’s too filled in Dean’s small living room. It’s not like his house is big, after all.

Much to Dean’s relief, Balthazar isn’t here. At least that’s a plus, right?

Dean gasps when suddenly Jimmy wraps him in a strong hug. They don’t really do that a lot, only whenever one of them is getting really emotional, so it’s a bit of a surprise when he feels Jimmy pressed against him, arms gently slapping his back and a chuckle close to his ear.

“I hate to say ‘I told you so’,” Jimmy starts, obviously not going to stop with his teasing. Dean then snorts and pushes the other man away. Instead of being insulted, Jimmy just passes his hand through Dean’s hair.

“Stop it, asshole,” Dean mutters, but he still smiles at his best friend in front of him. After that, Jimmy moves to Cas, and gives him a strong hug as well.

The party doesn’t last for _too_ long at least, but that’s probably because of Dean and Cas yawning all the time. After two hours, the first guests start going back home, and after the third hour the last guests – being Amelia and Jimmy – reveal that they’re going to leave as well. Dean doesn’t mind too much, most of the guests, he didn’t even know all that well, only having met them that one time he did hockey with Cas’ friends.

Eventually, after everybody is gone, all Dean and Cas can do is just head for bed, too tired to do anything more. Cas falls asleep immediately, but Dean finds himself staying awake for a little while longer. His eyes are resting on Cas, looking at the peaceful face of the world’s figure skating champion.

This feels right, Dean thinks. As he passes his fingers gently over Cas’ cheeks right before pressing a soft kiss against his lips, Dean can’t help but think about how lucky he actually is.

His only task now is not to screw it up.


	2. Domestic Life

It’s weird to say that life mostly just goes on like before.

Dean goes to work at Bobby’s garage in the morning, goes to practice a bit afterwards in the Sport’s Center, and eventually he ends his day with a shift at Roadhouse most days of the week. The only difference now is that, instead of heading home afterwards he stays at Cas’ place after driving him home, or Cas stays at his.

With there being no more competitions for him in the next two months at least, the skater seems to have taken some time off from the ice, no longer spending it at the rink until past midnight. Sometimes he joins Dean at the Roadhouse to keep him company during his shift, but other days he just goes back home right before Dean starts working. He’s usually still up when Dean returns, of course.

Most evenings they put up a movie and Dean ends up falling asleep on the couch with his head in Cas’ lap. Other evenings, they skip the movie and get to bed and end up making out a bit on the bed, but not moving any further than that since Dean doesn’t want to pressure him into doing things he might not want to do.

Another thing that has changed ever since he went to Shanghai is _what_ he practices. Even when other people are around or if Jimmy is teaching a class, Dean finds himself more daring of putting on his Snow White’s and warming up on his old memories of artistic skating. He’s quite rusty, but with every day it seems to be getting better.

It’s now three weeks ever since they’ve returned from Shanghai. Today is Wednesday, and after finishing his shift at the garage, Dean doesn’t have to return to the Roadhouse afterwards, meaning that he has the entire afternoon off.

Three weeks, that’s how long he’s been together with Cas. Three actual weeks, and yet it all still feels so damn new to him. Dean still feels warm inside whenever he gets to see Cas. His heart still races like crazy the moment he lays his eyes on him. Even now, as Dean tells himself to go practice in the sport’s center, all he really wants to do is just go to the ice rink and spend time with Cas, instead.

But he resists, instead pulling out his black figure skates from the trunk and purposely looking away from the gigantic building that contains the ice rink on his left. No, first practice, then Cas. The guy will surely still be on the ice an hour from now.

“Look at that, kids, it’s my future brother-in-law!” Jimmy says the moment Dean walks in, repeating that same damn line every time again and again. The first time, Dean had blushed. By now, all he can do is roll his eyes and snort as he sits down.

The skates are on easily, and in just a matter of seconds he’s already starting on his warm-up rounds. While Jimmy is doing his explanation, a few of the kids seem to be staring right at Dean, eyeing his artistic skates in jealousy.

Right, Dean had been around their age when he started with it… He sighs and just starts his sequence on his half of the room, mostly ignoring the kids that are obviously rather looking at him than listening to Jimmy.

Dean practices for an hour, takes a short break to get some water in him, and then goes on for another hour. Right now, he just wishes Annie was here. Dean _knows_ that something is wrong in his program; it just doesn’t _feel_ right at all. What it is, he can’t say, which is why he needs her around.

But, Dean might be hesitant on calling her. They didn’t separate on the best note, after all. Mostly, Dean’s father had been shouting his ass off at her in front of the entire audience that came to watch the competition. If that hadn’t been public humiliation, Dean doesn’t know what is.

After practicing for two hour Dean calls it a day. He’s sweaty, tired, and he could really use a hot shower. Jimmy, meanwhile, is still teaching his class, this time with the older students. As Dean passes them by, though, he does notice one of the teenagers getting away from the group and reaching Dean.

Wait, damn, what was her name again? Keri? Casey?

“Kate!” Dean shouts when he finds it. “What’s wrong?”

The short-haired girl looks at him awkwardly, as if she’s afraid of telling him whatever she came to him for. When Jimmy calls out for her, the girl just holds up her hand in a gesture that she’ll come back soon enough.

“I was just wondering… uhm,” Kate starts, then biting her lip and fumbling with the sleeves of her sweater. Dean frowns, almost afraid of what she’s going to ask if she’s so hesitant about this.

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite,” Dean assures her, still, and Kate then just lets out a long breath.

“I was wondering if you might want to give lessons in… you know, the skating that you just did?” she asks, and Dean’s eyes widen, not having expected that at all. Sure, he was aware that they had been watching him for the past three weeks, but that he might actually inspire somebody? That feels weird to say the least.

“Well, I might be persuaded in giving a session if Jimmy’s okay with it?” Dean tries, but Kate shakes her head.

“No, I mean _actual_ lessons, as like weekly meetings,” Kate quickly corrects him. “I mean, Jimmy’s classes are nice to keep busy, but I’m ready to learn new things and watching you do _that_ … I just want to learn as well.”

Dean bites his lip then, wondering what exactly he should say to that. So far he’s always refused the job offer at the sport’s center because they already had a great teacher and Dean _has_ two jobs. But if they might think about starting _figure skating_ lessons, he won’t exactly be _stealing_ Jimmy’s job. It’ll be something completely different they would be teaching.

“I’ll see what I can fix, okay?” Dean then asks, giving Kate one of his kindest smiles. Then he nods towards Jimmy, who is still waiting for Kate to return. “Now go back to Mr. Grumpy there, or he might kill me later on.”

Kate nods, thanks him, and then quickly skates off to the sides. Dean, in the meantime, is continuously passing the thought through his head; is he _experienced_ enough to teach kids? He doesn’t even know half of the tricks he’s performing, how is he supposed to teach them to them? In silence, Dean skates back to the bench to get back to his normal footwear. He stretches his toes a little bit once they’re free, rests his head against the wall behind him, and for a few seconds just stares in front of him.

“What was that about?” Jimmy asks suddenly. Dean startles; he hadn’t even noticed the other man approached him. He shakes his head and shrugs in response.

“She wanted me to give figure skating classes,” Dean answers. Jimmy snorts and then sits down next to Dean, quietly picking up the black Snow White’s and admiring them with a smirk.

“I would say _do it_. If nothing else, at least you’ll take a few students off my hands and my classes won’t be so crowded.” Of course Dean should have known that Jimmy would be on board with this. Even Dean has to admit that, indeed, Jimmy has gained a _lot_ of kids in his lessons. It might be good for him if Dean takes a few out of his hands, even if that amount won’t be much. Figure skating isn’t really something for everybody, after all.

“I’ll think about it, okay?” Dean then asks. If the classes would start next September, that would mean that Dean has about five months to get up to date about everything in the artistic skating world.

Maybe he _does_ need to call Annie. He doesn’t think he can do this alone, at all.

But he’s not alone; he has Cas with him, and he will not only support him, but also help him figure everything out. Dean is no longer on his own now.

He waves Jimmy goodbye when his next class is arriving. Jimmy waves back, and then Dean gets himself into the hallway, heading towards the exit. The moment he’s outside, the warm air of spring touches his skin and makes him smile.

He quickly drops his skates into the trunk of his car, and then fishes out the ice skates Cas bought him last week. He looks at them in a strong admiration, feeling a strong fondness pass through him every time he thinks back about the day Cas offered him the package.

“ _It’s a very late birthday gift,”_ Cas had said. It’s safe to say that they immediately jumped into the car to get to the ice rink and try them out, and man, were they heavenly. Dean even understands now why Cas never wants to put on the rentals from the rink itself.

Charlie, the woman in charge of this place, has given him a membership card not long after they returned from Shanghai. With this card, Dean can avoid the ticket booth and just scan the thing to allow himself in. Dean might have been a bit smug when he saw the guy’s annoyed face.

Even now, as Dean passes him, he holds up his hand and greets him, throwing him a wig while they’re at it. As far as Dean knows, Charlie called the guy Edd, and according to her, his best friend Harry is also somewhere here in the building, mostly in charge of cleaning the skates.

It only takes a few minutes to put the skates on, and then Dean leaves the changing room. Charlie isn’t here, today, so the man handing out skates to the people must be this Harry person.

When Dean walks through the door, Crowley seems to be on the point of leaving. Dean only barely avoids him and presses himself against the wall in the process. Crowley doesn’t even look up, silently walking outside and ignoring Dean.

Yeah, despite everything, Crowley still doesn’t like him. At least that feeling is mutual, Dean thinks. Not that he cares much. Cas is right, after all. Crowley _is_ kind of a jerk.

“Dean!” Cas shouts the moment he notices the other man arriving in the rink. He’s at the border, holding a bottle of water and looking extremely tired. “The rink is opening up now, so the free skaters will arrive any moment.”

“That’s okay,” Dean says. He’s tired as well, anyway, but he won’t say no to a few minutes on the ice with the other man. His _boyfriend_. It still sounds so weird. “How was training?”

Cas snorts and shakes his head, leaning forward a bit more as he stretches his limbs. Dean gets himself on the ice quickly and then stands next to him. The urge to just put his hand on Cas’ hip is a strong one, so he doesn’t hold himself back and just does it.

Cas smiles and comes back up, leaning a bit against Dean and resting his head to Dean’s shoulder.

“Crowley is killing me with this new program. It’s so hard…” Cas mutters. Then he lets out a long sigh and puts the bottle down on the border. “I would show you, but my muscles are so sore right now.”

“That’s okay,” Dean calls back with a smirk. Then he lets go of Cas and skates away from him. He raises an eyebrow to challenge Cas into following him. Cas, though, just shakes his head and puts his hands on his hips.

“Dean, I don’t think I can race you right now,” Cas laughs, and Dean joins in.

“That’s too bad, I was hoping for some action, here,” Dean jokes. Cas rolls his eyes but finally skates towards Dean’s direction. He quickly takes Dean’s hand into his own, and pulls him closer to him. Then he places his lips against Dean’s and kisses him sweetly before pulling away again. When he skates forward, he takes Dean with him and together they start lazily skating around the rink.

“What are our plans tonight?” Cas asks when the first free skaters get onto the rink. It’s two teenage girls who don’t seem too stable on the ice and are mostly just giggling as they keep on falling down.

“I thought about some take-out and a movie, what do you think?” Dean asks. They’re skating next to each other, hands still together. Neither of them seems to have planned to let it go easily.

“Dean, we had take-out yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before _that_. I need real food.”

“Take-out is real food,” Dean scoffs, but understanding what his boyfriend means. “I mean I could try and cook something, if you want?”

Cas puts his head on Dean’s shoulder then, stopping them in their tracks and instead wrapping his arms around him. Instantly, Dean returns the hug. He lets out a small chuckle when Cas groans from the exhaustion.

“I want a romantic evening, Dean,” Cas says with his mouth pressed against Dean’s shirt. “I want food and candles and lots of kissing afterwards.”

“Then that’s what you’ll get, Angel,” Dean laughs in return. His hand gently strokes Cas’ back, nodding in greeting at a pair of skaters that pass them by.

“But I’m so tireeeeed,” Cas complains further. “Can we plan the romantic evening for tomorrow? Or this weekend? I don’t have training then?”

“This weekend is just fine, Cas,” Dean answers. “Maybe we should just get you off the ice now, okay?” And Cas nods against his shoulder. Together, the pair gets themselves to the side where they grab their gear and return to the changing room. It’s already kind of crowded in there. Loud voices surround them as they try to switch their skates back into their shoes.

The moment they’re changed, a young girl asks Cas if she can get a picture with him. Despite his obvious exhaustion, he agrees. Dean takes the picture without asking, and quickly notes that Cas is quite good at hiding how tired he’s feeling. The girl doesn’t even seem to notice it.

Before Dean can hand her cellphone back, she gets a quick hug from Cas, and after that she’s on her way to the rink to get herself on the ice. The smile on her face seems to be something that lightens Cas’ mood.

Dean doesn’t bring it up, instead holding his bag with the skates over his shoulder and watching Cas do the same on the opposite side. Dean then holds out his left hand and takes Cas’ right one into his own.

“Let’s go home,” he says fondly, and Cas nods.

That evening, they have take-out again, and both men fall asleep in the middle of the movie they were watching.

Around midnight, Dean wakes up again, and carries Cas back to their bed. When they sleep, it’s with Cas back pressed against Dean’s chest, and Dean’s hand resting on Cas’ hip.

 

* * *

 

 

Dean is going to call her.

It’s almost five days since Kate asked him for lessons, and so far every day has been filled with continuous discussion on whether or not he should pick up his phone and dial her number. Right now, his mind is once again set on doing it, but he knows that, once he only has to press the green button, he’ll change his mind and put his phone down again.

No, he’s not going to call her.

“Dean, you’re sulking on your day off.”

The man looks up, finding his freshly awoken boyfriend sitting in front of him, holding an exact copy of Dean’s mug with the exact same coffee in it. Cas is looking at him with a worried expression, one eyebrow raised and lips pressed into a thin line.

“I’m not sulking,” Dean counters. Cas rolls his eyes.

“Sure, what was I thinking?” the other man mutters, taking another swing from his coffee and looking back down at his phone to check his notifications on Instagram. Dean had caught him taking a picture of them at the breakfast table a few minutes ago, but it’s just a thing Cas does now; sharing little moments between them with his fans. Dean doesn’t mind that much, as long as he doesn’t start with those disgusting kissing-pictures most teenagers nowadays share.

“What, are you mad, now?” Dean asks in a sudden panic. Cas just shrugs, but doesn’t look up. Great, only one hour awake and he’s already managed to piss him off.

“It’s just,” Cas then suddenly starts, rubbing his forehead but still not making eye contact, “You’ve been twitchy with your phone lately, and I don’t really know what to think right now. I wish you would just tell me.”

Dean raises his eyebrows, and suddenly a smirk forms on his lips. He chuckles, resting his head on his hands.

“Cas, are you thinking there’s some secret lady out there that I’m anxious to meet?” he asks, knowing that he shouldn’t joke about this – heck, he should take this as an insult even. But even Dean knows his past with the women, and how insecure Cas is feeling about this.

“I don’t-“ Cas starts, but then he sighs. “I don’t know, Dean. I trust you, I really do, but you’ve just been acting weird this past week.”

Dean then shakes his head and stands up, dropping his mug of coffee. Cas doesn’t look up still, but Dean knows he’s aware of him walking around the table until he’s standing behind the other man. Then Dean puts his hands on Cas’ shoulders, leaning forward a bit and hovering his lips next to Cas’ ear.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily,” Dean whispers right before pressing a quick kiss on his cheek. Then he pulls away again and heads to the fridge. “But if you really want to know; I’m thinking about calling my old coach to ask if she wants to continue my training.”

“Dean, that’s amazing!” Cas jumps up, hugging Dean from behind while the man is searching through the fridge.

“No it’s not amazing, the woman may hate me,” Dean mutters while searching for the butter. It seems like they need to stock Cas’ fridge again, since it’s quite empty right now.

“Why would she hate you? It’s not your fault that your father was an ass,” Cas mutters against his neck, with his lips slowly caressing his skin. Dean shivers from the soft contact, and then he gently turns his head to the side. His eyes barely make contact with Cas’.

“I don’t know, maybe I should have fought for it more?” Dean tries. Cas shakes his head before pressing his face against Dean’s cheek. He doesn’t answer at all, instead fishing out the phone from Dean’s pocket and unlocking it – of course the guy knows his code. Dean knows his as well – yeah, they’re already to that point. It should make Dean panic instantly, but somehow it doesn’t. Instead, he feels some sort of comfort that they seem to trust each other this much already.

Without explaining what he’s doing, Cas is searching through Dean’s contacts. Dean isn’t too surprised when he stops at ‘Annie’, having heard Dean mention her a few times before. With one arm still safely tucked around Dean’s waist, Cas presses the call button, and then hands the phone back.

“See, you didn’t call her. I did,” he says with a light smirk. Dean rolls his eyes while putting the device against his ear, allowing Cas to quickly peck him on the cheek before the other man rests his head on Dean’s shoulder.

The call is still pending. Dean’s heart is racing faster and his throat is getting dryer. When he moves his hand to end the call again, Cas grabs his wrist and keeps it in place. He doesn’t speak, neither of them does. Instead, they silently wait for the call to go through.

“ _With Annie,”_ suddenly comes from the other side, and Dean’s breath catches. That voice is still _so_ familiar, like she hasn’t changed at all.

“Uh,” Dean starts, but that’s about all he gets out.

“ _Hello? Who is this?”_

After it’s clear that Dean won’t speak that easily, Cas pulls the phone out of Dean’s hand, pressing the speaker button, and holding the thing between them two.

“Yes, hello, my name is Castiel Novak,” Cas starts, not moving his arm from Dean. “I’m here with Dean Winchester, I don’t know if you still remember him?”

“ _Dean? Oh, that is a long time ago, how are you, boy? I’ve seen you appear on the sport’s news once or twice,”_ Annie says. Dean lets out a long but relieved breath, mouthing a ‘thank you’ at Cas. The figure skater just shrugs with a light smirk.

“Yeah, uh, it was quite a weird situation,” Dean laughs hesitantly. Annie, on the other side, laughs as well.

“ _So it seemed. So you two boys together now, or…?”_

“Yes, we are together,” Cas says proudly. “But we weren’t at the time we came into the news. Like Dean said, it was quite weird and complicated.”

“ _Well, it’s good to hear from you, you always were my most promising student, after all. How are you doing now? Are you still skating, or did you switch to ice skating?”_

“No, still inline skating, but that’s what I called about, actually,” Dean gets out. Cas nods at him in assurance. “I never really stopped practicing, even after… what happened. But it seems like my knowledge is quite limited, and now there are a few students at the skating club that want me to teach them figure skating.”

“ _Of course you never stopped. You were too talented for that, after all,”_ Annie says smugly. Dean clears his throat, ignoring the pointed look Cas is giving him and scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah, well, uh…” he starts, but he doesn’t seem to be able to find the words. “I guess what I’m trying to ask is; would you be interested in, maybe, becoming my coach once more, if just to teach me the basics again so I can teach the kids?”

A long silence comes from the other line. It lasts so long that eventually Dean wonders if the call has been disconnected. Were it not for the timer ticking off on the screen to show them how long they’ve been at it, Dean would have thought this phone call over.

“ _If I’m really honest, Dean, I haven’t had a student for a little while now,”_ Annie starts. “ _I suppose our numbers became fewer and fewer, and eventually all my good ones’ left to go the professional way.”_

Dean nods, wondering what exactly she’s trying to say here.

“ _I suppose I could come over for a little while, see how rusty you are and get you back into shape. But it won’t be to help you teach the kids; I want you to participate in an_ actual _competition when you’re ready.”_

Dean sighs; he should have seen this one coming, of course. Ever since the beginning, all Annie wanted for him was to get himself into the bigger competitions. He had almost succeeded at it as well, had his father not interrupted his qualifying contest.

“I think that is a great deal, Annie,” Cas suddenly says before Dean can answer her. “We are currently in Pontiac, and there’s a training center where you two can practice.”

“ _Great!”_ comes from the other side of the line. _“Just text me the details, and I’ll fly over as soon as we can. Maybe we can even get Dean ready before the next season starts.”_

“Huh, I doubt that,” Dean mutters. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s ready to try.

Eventually, they hang up, and Dean pockets the phone back safely. Cas prepares them another coffee, and they continue to eat their breakfast in silence. This time, the anticipation of Annie coming to town, though, seems to make this a much more pleasant meal.

 


	3. Collision

It would be Dean’s luck that his first crush ever would have been on a woman much older than him. Annie Hawkins, back in the day, had been a piece of beauty. She had long fiery locks of red hair that always fell perfectly around her face when she took it out of her ponytail. Her skin had been pale – almost white – with cheeks blushed red from training and covered with the lightest freckles that one wouldn’t really notice unless they had been up close with her.

And Dean _had_ been just that. If he’s really honest right now, the only reason _why_ he ever agreed to switch to artistic skating was mostly just because she had asked. He had been quite young, in one of his bi-weekly training sessions at the club, when suddenly she rolled up to him with a wide grin.

“ _Hey there, I’ve been watching you skate for a while, and I have to admit that I’m impressed. I came to you to talk about the new club that I’m forming-“_ Dean hadn’t been listening after that, anymore, just simply blown away by her beauty. He had just nodded, speechless, and accepted the piece of paper with the details that she handed to him afterwards. He hadn’t even known what it was he had agreed on in the first place.

Now, many years later, the woman Dean is facing at the airport looks pretty much the same she did all those years ago. Dean’s heart even skips the usual beat when he sees her, only this time he knows it’s more about the enthusiasm for her willingness to train him rather than his past feelings for her. Even back then, he knew that there was no way for them to ever even be something together.

Besides, he’s got his eyes on somebody else right now. A certain person who might have accompanied Dean to the airport despite being told that it isn’t necessary at all. Cas is even missing a training session for this, but he seemed adamant about joining Dean tonight. Dean figures he just needed an excuse to get away from Crowley for a while.

“Dean Winchester!” Annie says with the brightest smile right before hugging Dean the moment she sees him. Dean isn’t too surprised to find lines on her once-smooth face. She’s still beautiful, Dean finds, despite the clear age she’s showing. Her hair is still as fiery red as always, though Dean couldn’t really imagine her in another color.

“Annie Hawkins,” Dean greets back while returning the hug. He isn’t planning on making it last too long, but much to his surprise, Annie doesn’t let go of him in the first few seconds. When she does pull back a little bit, her arms are still around his waist.

“You have become quite the handsome man, my boy! That figure skater of yours is _very_ lucky,” she jokes, and then she pulls back at last, turning towards Cas and holding out her hand while still smiling. Cas answers the handshake with a small nod.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hawkins,” Cas greets her. Annie rolls her eyes jokingly.

“Please, ‘Annie’ will do just fine,” she responds. Then she lets go of his hand to take her suitcase back from the ground. “Now, if you two lads don’t mind, I would like to see where I’ll be living for a while?”

Dean nods, taking the suitcase from her despite her protests. Then the three of them move back towards the parking, taking the same route they had done with Sam about four months ago. Even as they walk and Annie is talking about her flight, Dean’s eyes still travel to Cas. He finds the man listening to Annie’s story with much interest, and a small grin appears on his face with each answer Cas seems to give. By the time they reach the car, Dean doesn’t even have a clue what they had been talking about.

As they agreed, the place they’re taking Annie to is Dean’s house. They’ve cleaned up Dean’s mess in the past week, making sure that it’s livable for the woman for the time being. It’s not that Dean has a lot of stuff that needs to be private, but even now he feels a tad bit more relaxed knowing that they’ve cleaned the place completely for her arrival. The stuff that they took away has been moved to Cas’ place.

But again; it’s only for the time being. Teenagers nowadays would call it a much extended sleepover. As long as everybody knows that they’re _not_ living together, it’s good enough for Dean. Even he doesn’t think he’s ready for that just yet. It’s only been about four months, after all.

“Your place is small, but extremely cozy,” Annie comments the moment Dean opens up the door for her. She observes the place around her as she walks forward. “You got yourself a nice little house, Dean.”

“It’s all I can afford for now,” Dean shrugs. Annie just laughs as she puts a hand on his shoulder the moment she stands next to him.

“I like it, Dean. It’s perfect,” she says. “Now, let me settle in a little bit, and we’ll start practicing tomorrow. You just take care that it’s alright with owner of the place.”

“It’s all taken care of,” Dean answers. He contacted the owner only weeks prior, and now that Jimmy’s classes are finished for the summer holidays, there’s no reason for him not to take the place. The only reason why it would be off limits is during an event, of which Dean has gotten calendars of.

“Great!” she says, nodding at the two men before accepting the key Dean is handing her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

With that, the two men leave the house behind them, allowing Annie to clean up a bit after her flight. As agreed, they’ll see each other the day afterwards. As they near the car, Dean skips forward to open the passenger door for Cas.

“Here you go, Mister Novak,” Dean jokes, and Cas rolls his eyes. He leans forward quickly to steal a short kiss, and then sits down, allowing Dean to close the door again. After that, Dean hurries behind the wheel. “So what do you want to do on your afternoon off?”

Cas is quiet for a few seconds as he thinks. His finger rests on his lower lip, and his eyes stare ahead of him in concentration.

“I would like to go to the skating rink. I’ve been practicing with Crowley so much, and I need at least one day of just goofing around on the ice,” Cas answers. Dean snorts; of course, Cas’ escape off the ice would be _on_ the ice. Still, he doesn’t complain. It’s been a little while since he, too, has put on his skates. With the things almost permanently put in the trunk, it’s easy for them to just spontaneously decide to get some skating done.

“Skating rink, it is,” Dean answers with a smile. Even as he drives, he keeps his hand resting on Cas’ leg. The other man doesn’t complain, instead just toying with his fingers in the meantime. “When do you need to fly out again?”

“Probably September.” Cas lifts up his hand and rests it against his lips for a few seconds before finally tangling their fingers together. “I need to know which events I’ve been selected for, first.”

Dean nods. “You need me to come along?” Even as he asks it, his heart skips a beat at the idea of having to fly again. He would do it for Cas, of course, but it won’t be easy. There’s also the matter of work; even if he starts teaching figure skating to the club, he would have to let go one of his jobs.

He already knows which one he would quit, but somehow it feels wrong not to at least think about it. He loves taking care of cars; he’s been doing it ever since his dad allowed him to tinker with the Impala, after all. Being a bartender, though, that has mostly just been a temporal solution, until he found something better. After almost working there for four years, it’s probably time to finally let it go, right?

“You’re sulking again,” Cas tells him dryly, and Dean looks up in confusion. Right, has Cas been talking the entire time? Did Dean miss everything he just told him.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” he asks, flushed because of being caught like that. Cas just sighs before letting go of his hand and instead reaching for the back of his head. With his fingers, he softly strokes through Dean’s short strands of hair.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cas tells him softly. “Where did your mind wander off to?”

Dean stays quiet for a moment. Is Cas angry at him now for spacing out? It’s not easy to determine, since Cas is, as usual, very calm about everything.

“I was thinking about telling Ellen I’m not renewing my contract at the Roadhouse,” Dean says, figuring it’s best to just stay honest with him. “And before that I was thinking about how I would need to discuss flying out with you with Bobby and Jimmy, since I can’t just leave without any notice.”

Cas doesn’t answer, instead leaning forward and resting his head on Dean’s shoulder. Around the corner, they catch the first glimpse of the skating rink and Dean manages a light smile.

“You know you don’t have to do all that effort for me, right?” Cas then suddenly asks out of nowhere. Dean figures it’s a response to the flying-thing. Immediately, he puts his hand back on Cas’ thigh and squeezes his leg gently.

“Cas, you know I would gladly do it,” Dean counters. Cas sits up again and throws him an unimpressed look

“You would _gladly_ get into a plane for me?”

Well, if he puts it that way…

“I- uh… okay, not _gladly_ , but I would certainly do it for you.” He hopes that is enough to take Cas’ worries away, and while he throws him the look that says that the conversation is over, he can see that Cas still has more to say about the matter. Still, the man keeps his mouth shut, probably planning to finish this talk later today.

Charlie is there to greet them when they enter. Cas is, as usual, quicker with putting on his skates, so he ends up talking with the enthusiastic woman while Dean is still tying the shoelaces together. Next to him, a little kid is trying to put her rental skates on, as well. When he looks around, he can’t see any parent around her.

“Do you need help?” he asks the kid, who seems close to crying. The little girl, who is already wearing a warm pink scarf and fluffy ear warmers looks up to him and nods sadly. “Are you here alone?”

“No,” the girl says with a high-pitched voice. “My brother is here, but he’s already in the cold. He didn’t want to wait for me.” She rubs a tear away and sniffs her nose. Dean shakes his head as he kneels down in front of her, untying the laces of her skates and pulling them off.

“You put them on sideways,” he says, holding the skate up. “This one is for left, and that one is for right.”

The girl nods, and allows Dean to put the skates on the correct feet. Then he clicks the claps together before tying them at last. When he stands up, he holds out his hand towards the girl and helps her up as well.

“Now, don’t go running too fast, okay? Have you ever been skating before?” The girl nods, and that’s enough for Dean to let her hand go then. If she’s been skating before, she won’t be hopeless out there. With a quick thanks, the girl skips away, happy to join her brother again. Dean just shakes his head and rests his hands on his hips.

Now, where’s Cas? In sudden worry, Dean turns around to check the place out, finding Cas still standing at the counter next to Charlie. They’re no longer talking, but much to Dean’s dismay he can see that they’re staring at him.

“Uh, what’s wrong?” Dean asks. Cas flushes a bit, and Charlie just laughs before slapping Cas on the shoulder.

“Cas is just drooling over how you act around children,” Charlie jokes. “You’re just a natural daddy, I would say!”

Dean throws her a glare then. She’s just teasing him, of course. It’s _way_ too early to even _think_ about children, and surely Cas agrees with him. Instead of answering her, Dean grabs Cas’ hand and pulls him away from her.

“C’mon, before she actually starts talking about weddings or something,” Dean mutters. Of course, Charlie heard that.

“Oh! Is there a wedding?! Why didn’t you tell me? Dean!” But Dean ignores her. The door to the changing room slams shut behind them, and Dean takes a deep breath the moment he’s back in the cold atmosphere of the skating rink. There are a few free skaters on the ice, but not too many. Most of them are just sticking to the side, as well.

With their hands still joined, the pair slowly make their way to the center of the rink. They make sure not to collide with any other skater, figuring it’s better to take it easy since these people don’t seem too stable on the blades.

“Sometimes I wonder what drives people to go skating if they’ve never done it before,” Cas thinks out loud. His eyes are still resting on a group of teenage girls who constantly scream the moment they almost fall down.

“Well, what drove _you_ to go skating?” Dean asks. He puts his hands on Cas’ face and pulls him back towards him. The moment they look at each other, Dean shows Cas a smile. Then he leans forward and steals another quick kiss.

“I already told you?” Cas asks in confusion the moment Dean pulls back. Dean just snorts and shakes his head.

“Exactly, think back about that,” he clarifies. Cas sighs and opens up his arms to wrap them around Dean’s middle. His head rests against Dean’s shoulder then, and together they gently spin around for a few seconds.

When Dean’s phone vibrates, Dean takes one arm off Cas’ shoulder and grabs his device out of his pants. It’s a message from Sam, texting him the details about when he can come over to Pontiac. It’s lucky Cas has a spare bedroom, otherwise they would have had to cancel this year, with Annie staying over at Dean’s place.

Upon receiving some more Instagram notifications – mostly just new followers and one reminder that Cas tagged him in a picture this morning – Dean opens up the app and clicks the notifications away.

 _How about I’ll post a picture for once?_ Dean thinks. So far, it’s only been Cas who shared a few moments of them together. Even this morning, it had been a simple picture of Cas sitting next to Dean in the car and the two of them on their way to the airport.

Just when he starts the camera, Cas pulls back and grabs his left hand while skating backwards.

“Let’s do some pair-skating!” Cas calls out happily, trying to pull Dean along with him. Dean snorts and shakes his head.

“No way, we tried that once and we ended up in the news,” Dean jokes back while rolling his eyes. In the sudden movement, his finger accidentally pressed on the screen and made a picture. The image that comes out of it isn’t really that bad, though. Dean kind of likes it.

Their faces aren’t on it. Instead, he can see Cas’ hands grabbing Dean’s left hand. Underneath them there’s the ice. Cas’ white and blue skates are also clear in view, so all his fans will _immediately_ know it’s him. Of course, all the people following Dean should _already_ know who exactly the other person on the picture would be.

> **_d_winchester_ ** _look at this adorable boyfriend of mine. trying to get me to do pair skating with him. Keep dreaming, **@castiel**_
> 
>  
> 
> _**** _
> 
>  

It’s almost making him sick how much he’s acting like a teenager with this post. Still, he smiles because he doesn’t even care about that. After making sure the picture is uploaded, Dean puts the phone away and grabs Cas’ hand into his own at last.

“Castiel Novak, there are a lot of things I would do for you,” Dean starts, leaning his head forward again and allowing Cas to rest his forehead against Dean’s. “But you’ll have to try harder than that to get me to do pair skating.”

“Well,” Cas whispers against his cheek with his eyes closed. “Maybe you might want to do it if I’m telling you what I’m planning to do tonight?”

Dean raises an eyebrow, curious as to what Cas’ plans are. “What are you planning tonight?” he asks. Cas smirks, letting his lips caress Dean’s cheek before passing them to his ear to whisper his answer.

“That’s a secret,” he breathes out. Dean rolls his eyes and snorts.

“Well, genius, in that case I won’t do pair-skating with you,” Dean returns, pulling away from the hold and skating away from Cas. He’s just messing around, of course. Cas laughs and chases after him immediately. The two then race around on the rink, making sure not to run over the kids currently skating on the ice. Dean always stays one step ahead of him; while Cas is the better performer, Dean has always relayed more on his speed. Even with inline skating, he had been the fastest of them all. Now that he’s pretty much used to being on the ice, that same trait has come over easily.

“You’re getting slow in your old age, Cas!” Dean shouts at him teasingly, knowing that Cas is right behind him. But when no answer comes, Dean dares to turn his head and take a look, only to find that Cas _isn’t_ behind him.

He’s on the ground a little further away, lying next to another skater. They must have collided. Dean’s eyes open wide when he notices blood dripping on the ice from where Cas is located. Fear crawls up immediately, and Dean turns all the way back around to get back to the figure skater.

“Cas!” he shouts, dropping down on his knees the moment he’s close enough and sliding forward a little bit further. Then he takes Cas’ shoulders into his hands and pushes him until he’s lying on his back.

“Awtch,” Cas mutters with his eyes closed. The blood is dripping down his nose, but otherwise he seems completely free of damage. When Dean casts a look to the side, he finds the other skater already trying to stand up.

“Oh my God, Cassie! I’m so sorry, you came out of nowhere,” a familiar voice says. The accent is British, sounding much like Balthazar’s.

“I could say the same thing about you, Balt,” Cas mutters jokingly, allowing Dean to lift his head until its resting on the man’s legs. When somebody hands him a piece of tissue, Dean takes it happily, pushing it onto Cas’ nose to stop the bleeding a little bit.

“Just keep still, Cas. Charlie is already getting the first-aid kit,” Dean mutters. He grabs Cas’ hand into his own and presses a soft kiss against his glove. “Balthazar, will you help me get him back to the side? The ice is too cold to stay here for too long.”

Balthazar nods, but he squints a bit as if his head is hurting. Maybe he should be looked after, as well. Still, he helps Dean out when they try to get Cas back onto his feet. Two other skaters lend an arm, and eventually, they manage to get Cas to the sides. The moment he’s seated down on the bench, Charlie appears with the first-aid kit. The tissue Dean had pressed against Cas’ nose is already soaked, and Dean grabs another one from the box Charlie just opened.

“If this bleeding doesn’t stop in the next half hour, you better get him to the emergency room. He hit his head pretty hard, after all,” Charlie says as she tries to wipe away the bloodstains from Cas’ face. Luckily, after ten minutes the bleeding does stop. Cas has a big lump of ice pressed against his forehead, and Balthazar looks pretty much the same minus the blood on his nose and clothes. Dean has already changed their skates back into their shoes, and much to his surprise he finds himself in quite a pleasant conversation between him, Cas and Balthazar.

It turns out the guy isn’t _that_ bad once you get to know him.

After another half hour, Dean decides that it’s time for them to head back. Cas should get warm and comfortable on the couch. Dean can make him dinner, and they could watch a movie together until Cas falls asleep. It might not be the way they would have liked to spend their free day, but it’s going to be warm and cozy any way. Any time spent with Cas is the best time, after all.

Dean carries Cas’ bag with skates while at the same time supporting him. He keeps a hand around his middle, and Cas leans heavily against his shoulder.

“My head hurts, Dean,” Cas mumbles the moment he’s down in the passenger seat. Dean leans forward and presses a kiss to his hurting forehead before closing the door. Then he hurries to the driver’s side and gently slams the door shut as well to spare Cas’ head.

“I’ll give you a painkiller the moment we’re home,” Dean tells Cas softly, leaning to the side, putting a hand behind Cas’ head and then kissing him on the lips softly. Cas huffs out a laugh and kisses back before pulling away.

“Now we didn’t get to do pair skating,” he whines, leaning back against his seat. Dean just snorts and places himself back behind the wheel.

The moment they are at Cas’ place, Dean prepares him the medication after placing Cas on the couch. He first helps him remove his shoes, and then throws a blanket over his body before heading into the kitchen he’s by now so familiar with.

Once Cas is set with his drink, Dean heads back to the kitchen to prepare the quickest meal he knows how to make. He fishes out some pasta from the counter and drops it into boiling water. Then he takes some prepared sauce from a can and warms it up as well. It’s not the best meal there is, but it will do for this evening. Tomorrow, if Cas wants and if Dean isn’t too exhausted from training, he will prepare him a whole meal.

After finishing their food, Dean drops the plates onto the stand in front of the couch. Cas moves to the side until his head is resting onto Dean’s lap, and his eyes are closed as Dean gently passes his hand through his hair. Dean tries as much as he can not to touch the bump on his head.

“Cas?” Dean then starts, hearing Cas hum. Dean clears his throat then before continuing. “You had something planned for tonight? Can I know what it was?”

At that, Cas opens his eyes again. A light smile appears on his face and he slowly gets back up until he’s sitting next to Dean.

“Better yet,” Cas responds. “I’ll show you.”

And the other man leans forward once more, kissing him again, more fiercely than before. Dean opens his eyes wide in surprise, but quickly goes along with it. His hands travel towards Cas’ middle, and before he knows it he’s pressed against the side of the couch with Cas leaning above him.

Dean’s heart speeds up then. They’ve made out a few times already, but it’s always the same thrill he’s feeling from it. No matter how often they do it, it stays amazing. Dean gladly allows Cas in as his tongue tries to pass through. Right now, the only sounds they’re making is from the kissing and the heavy breathing. Anybody in the next room would be able to know what they were doing, but that’s just the best thing about living alone, after all.

Dean moans a little bit the moment Cas sits himself down onto Dean’s lap. The guy probably doesn’t know it, but he’s applying pressure on just the right spot, and if he keeps on moving like that, Dean doesn’t know if he’ll be able to last.

“Hmmmcas,” Dean starts, trying to push Cas away gently but failing miserably. Then he turns his head to the side and gasps for breath. “Cas you need to stop before things get too heated.”

Cas smirks but doesn’t pull away. Instead, he rocks his hips once more, making Dean groan out loudly. He squeezes his eyes shut and lets out a few curses.

“Cas, seriously, I won’t be able to hold it,” Dean begs of him.

“It’s fine, Dean. You deserve it,” Cas says, and that’s when his hand moves from Dean’s bare stomach to underneath his pants. Dean hadn’t even noticed Cas opened up his belt.

“Cas! Stop, you don’t have to do this just for me,” Dean protests. Cas frowns a little bit as he pulls away, eyes staring right into Dean’s as he takes in his words.

“What do you mean, just for you?” he asks in confusion, but the heaviness in his words instantly gives Dean a cold feeling. Did he just say something wrong? Dean thought he was considerate, keeping Cas’ lack of sexual attraction in mind. Wasn’t that what Cas talked about a while ago?

“I mean, you don’t have to have sex with me because you think I need it?” Dean tries, but he can see just how annoyed Cas is getting now. The other man pulls away completely, sitting on his knees with his back straight and a clear scowl on your face. “Cas? What did I say?”

“So you think that I’m only trying to have sex with you because _I think you need it_?” Cas mutters out, and Dean already regrets everything he’s said about the matter. He should have just let Cas do his thing, it would all have so much better.

“Well, yeah, you don’t like sex, after all,” Dean tries to defend himself. Cas then glares at him, looking as if he’s ready to spit fire.

“I think what I said was ‘I enjoy sex very much, I just don’t feel any attraction unless there’s a bond’,” Cas mutters out bitterly. “If you had actually looked up the term ‘demisexual’, you might have come to that conclusion as well.”

“But if you don’t feel any attraction, how can you even get turned on?” Dean asks, feeling extremely out of his debt here. He has no idea what he’s supposed to do. This evening could have gotten a whole lot better than this if Dean had just kept his mouth shut. He should have known that Cas knew what he was doing.

“Just because I don’t feel any attraction doesn’t mean I can’t get horny once in a while, Dean,” Cas snaps. He stands up from the couch and heads towards his bedroom with big steps. Dean can’t even form a full sentence as he sees him walk away. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

And with that, Cas slams the door to the bedroom shut, leaving Dean in the couch with his mouth fallen wide open, eyes staring at the piece of wood that separates him and Cas.

What’s supposed to happen here? Did Cas just insinuate that Dean is to sleep on the couch? He didn’t particularly kick Dean out, so it’s probably not that he wants him out of the house. That at least means something.

How in the world did the evening end up like this? One moment they were having quite a heated moment on the couch, and the next there’s Cas slamming the door, reminding Dean of the times where his parents used to argue and one of them did the same thing. Of course, Dean had only been four years old then, so he never really understood what was happening. When he, as a kid, had copied his mother and started slamming the door shut where-ever he went, his dad had gotten quite angry at him, forbidding Dean any dessert for an entire week.

Things make much more sense now. And boy, does Dean hate this feeling.


	4. Amends

It’s safe to say that Dean Winchester isn’t a perfect human being. Nobody is, really, but it can’t be pointed out more how extremely uncomfortable Dean can feel whenever a situation happens that he can’t fully control.

His relationship – heck, even after four months it’s still strange to think of it as such – with Cas has been pretty much been happy and fun from the moment it started all the way back in Shanghai. They hadn’t fought before – putting aside the small fight they had at the roadhouse before the first kiss, but neither of them really mentions that anymore. They stayed at each other’s places the moment they got back to Pontiac, not having spent an evening apart ever since then, and it’s pretty safe to say that Dean has a key to Dean’s house as much as Cas has the keys to Dean’s place.

It might be safe to say that they could have moved a bit too fast here; they agreed to take things slow but so far there hasn’t been a day they hadn’t spent together. Even though they don’t really admit it, they pretty much live together already.

Which is the problem right there, isn’t it? For all that it feels right to be together, their relationship might have been pushed to a level that they weren’t ready for. Maybe it’s best if they take a few steps back?

Dean takes a deep breath as he thinks things over; this arrangement with Annie has put him in a tight spot here; his only choice right now is pretty much just staying at Cas’ place despite the probable distance they need. He can’t kick Annie out already, and he can’t stay cooped up at Jimmy’s place. This arrangement right here had after all only been temporal, just until Annie decided if she would stay here to train Dean for competition and rent a small place in that case.

Now, before Dean goes to jump on any conclusions – in this case Cas not _actually_ kicking him out because of a small argument – Dean lets out a deep sigh and decides to get his ass in gear. Despite the other man having gone to bed half an hour ago, Dean’s heart is still beating faster than it should. He finds that he’s nervously biting his lower lip, and his fingers can’t seem to stop fumbling with the hem of his shirt.

Right, he should just try and _talk_. Really, the thing he’s horrible at. It sucks, but it’s obviously necessary at this moment.

A soft knock on the door results in no answer at all. Is Cas being stubborn, or has he actually fallen asleep? Dean doesn’t even know which of the two he would prefer right now.

“Cas?” Dean asks, daring to open the door a little bit. Instantly, he can see that the light has been turned off. Still, the figure lying in the bed is not to be mistaken. Dean takes a deep breath before getting himself fully in the room. He quickly turns off the light of the living room before closing the door, which means that Dean is stuck in a dark room.

Slowly, he walks to the bed he’s spent a few nights in already, and reaches for the light on the bedside table. Then he sits down on the side of the bed, face turned towards the resting figure next to him.

Dean knows instantly that Cas isn’t asleep yet; his form is too stiff for that. The guy’s mostly just ignoring him, so it seems, but Dean isn’t ready to just give up like that.

He throws his legs on the bed as well, leaning on his elbow as he turns towards Cas. With his free hand, he dares to reach out to Cas’ upper arm, finding the man stiffening for a few minutes before once more relaxing under his hand. Dean smirks; that must mean that he isn’t _that_ angry with him.

“I’m sorry, Cas,” Dean mutters lowly, letting out another sigh. He closes his eyes as he tries to find the next words. “You were right, I should have looked it up more, but to be honest I really don’t understand all of it.”

Cas still doesn’t answer.

“I suppose I read a few things and made my own conclusions, and that’s not really what should have happened here.” Dean gently squeezes Cas’ arm, still getting no response but finding Cas relax even more under his touch.

“I guess I was just afraid that I would take advantage of you, so I always avoided the subject. I wanted to bring it up so often, but I never could.”

That’s when Cas finally turns around. In the small light of his lamp, Dean can see Cas’ wet eyes looking back up at him as he lies on his back. His hair is just as messy as Jimmy’s now, sticking out everywhere much like his brother’s. If this were a happier moment, Dean would have laughed. But right now, there’s no reason for him to chuckle. All he wants is to make this person in front of him free of the tears that are threatening to roll from his eyes.

“Can you-“ Cas starts, but then he stops, clearing his throat before shuffling a bit in the bed until his side is pressed against Dean. His face is pressed against his shoulders, and his hand grabs Dean’s shirt, clinging to it as if it’s the only thing keeping him alive. “Can you just hold me for a little while?”

Dean lets out a loud breath, feeling relieved that Cas doesn’t want to push him away much like Dean had been afraid he would. Immediately, he indulges Cas by wrapping his arms around him and holding him much like he asked. Dean doesn’t even try to resist the urge to kiss his forehead as the two men lie in bed silently, clinging to each other as if they’re scared to ever let go.

Eventually, Cas speaks up again.

“I’m sorry, too,” he starts, more sighing his words than speaking them out. “I overreacted. You couldn’t have known and you were only trying to make sure I didn’t do anything out of obligation. I really do appreciate that, Dean.”

Dean holds his breath for a few seconds before releasing it again. His eyelids drop shut as he gets used to Cas’ weight upon his chest.

“Let’s just say we were both idiots this evening, and that we should just forget all about it,” Dean answers. He feels Cas grin rather than sees it, so he knows he’s on the right path here.

The other man doesn’t answer him though. Instead, he lets him hold him for a long while, allowing for Dean to keep his arms safely around Cas’ waist and his nose pressed in his neck. They don’t speak any further, instead just stumbling into a deep sleep in just a matter of minutes.

When they wake up, they simply pretend nothing happened, and they go along their day.

 

* * *

 

 

Annie is a little bit late when she arrives at the training center. Dean is already in the middle of his warm-up when the doors open to reveal her bright figure entering. Right now, they’re the only two people in here, since Cas is back at the ice skating rink for training, as well.

The moment Dean sees Annie enter, though, he hurries back to the side and stands straight with his hands behind his back, waiting for her instructions. Annie looks at him with an eyebrow raised, and then she smirks at him with a snort.

“My my, you weren’t this eager when you were a kid,” Annie mentions, and Dean feels his cheeks redden. Yeah, so he might have been a bit too excited about this, but then again who wouldn’t after so many years? To finally have a coach again, and get the chance to build a possible career… It makes Dean nervous already.

“Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” Dean says with a slight bow of his head. Annie smirks once more before dropping her gear and taking her own white skate out of the bag. Then she nods towards the rink.

“Why don’t you warm-up for a while?” she suggests, holding up her skates to indicate that she’ll be there in a moment. Dean frowns then.

“But I’ve been warming-up for ten minutes already?” Dean wonders out loud. Annie raises her eyebrow at his comment.

“Doubting me already?” she asks, crossing her arms as she sits down on the bench. “I just want to watch you skate, to have a look at your technique and see how horrible it has gotten after skipping classes for so many years. So go, skate! Don’t question me again, Winchester!”

Dean nods quickly and heads off immediately before she can shout at him some more. Yeah, he had forgotten how strict she sometimes can be. It’s strange, actually, that nobody took her as their professional coach. She’s got the balls for it, for sure!

“That’s more like it!” she calls out after him. Dean doesn’t respond, but instead starts doing the rounds he’s been doing for the past ten minutes already. After another ten minutes, though, Annie joins him, skating smoothly next to him with her hands behind her back and another grin on her face.

“You aren’t used to these skates, are you?” she asks smugly. Dean stops in his tracks, slightly out of breath. With a graceful turn, Annie halts as well, putting her hands on her hips and standing proudly in front of him.

“I have been skating on actual inline skates for the past few years, yeah,” Dean admits. Annie snorts and shakes her head.

“Those are enormous and unhandy! But a great skater should be able to work with them as well. Tell me, did you manage your jumps when you wore your inlines?”

Dean nods proudly, remembering the few times he tried to practice his old program with his favorite pair of skates. Sure, he kept on failing at one point, but that was mostly because something in his head stopped him, rather than a failure in his abilities.

“Great, now forget all you know about them. These skates are the ones you’ll keep using from now on,” Annie says, pointing at Dean’s black figure skates. Dean nods, a bit sad that he won’t be able to use his favorite pair anymore.

“Okay, now, has that boyfriend of yours told you how often he trains?” Annie asks. Dean presses his lips together as he starts to think, unable to put a number on the amount of time Cas spends at the rink.

“He hasn’t, but I know he mostly stays until after midnight. I know, since I get to drive him home every time,” Dean answers. Annie crosses her arms and hums as she thinks about his words.

“Right. Have you two been skating together in the past?”

Okay, uh, is this still about training, or is she simply just inquiring about his personal life? Mostly, Dean is inclined to just say it’s none of her business, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut about that. Better to just indulge her, since she’s the one who is going to save his non-existent career.

“Cas bought me a pair of figure skates, even. We go skate together at least once a week,” Dean answers. Annie then smiles and puts her hand on her chest as her eyes soften.

“My heart melts, you two are just adorable,” she calls out loud. Dean scowls, not really keen on being called ‘adorable’ by anybody. Not even Jimmy should be allowed to say something like that. Annie, though, seems to notice his look and she slaps him on the arm. “Honey, get over yourself. I know a great pair when I see one.”

“Can we just train, please?” Dean tries. Everything is better than this conversation, so he rather just cut it short.

“One more thing; are you going to him this evening, or is he going to you? I mean, after training?”

Dean sighs and crosses his arms as well while throwing his head backwards.

“Normally I go to him,” he answers. He doesn’t offer anything more, knowing that telling her Cas is going to catch the last few minutes of training won’t do him much good.

“You’re really going to have to tell me all about how you got together,” Annie says happily. Dean doesn’t answer, and after a while Annie sighs. “Fine, just show me what more you actually remember from your old program, and then I can try and figure out what you can handle for your new one.”

That’s more like it.

They train for a few hours, with a break after every sixty minutes. Dean’s muscles are protesting heavily the moment they get to the four-hour mark, but Annie doesn’t even seem close to being finished with him.

So far they’ve refreshed Dean’s memory of all the jumps he once learned but forgot. Then they tried more spinning, combinations and lots of other stuff. After the long four hours, at least they can say that Dean is right back again at where he stopped all those years ago.

Dean is leaning forward with his hands resting on his legs when Cas enters the building at last. He has his bag with ice skates over his shoulders, and drops down on the bench next to them. Annie waves at him with a bright smile, and Cas waves back happily before winking at Dean, who is just about ready to fall backwards and never get up again.

“Hello Castiel! We’re just about finished here so you can take your lover-boy home in a few minutes!” Annie calls out. Cas nods and lifts his thumb in agreement. Dean finally gives up and drops himself down on the ground in frustration.

“Now, Dean, I’ve practiced with you for a few hours now, but I expect you to train by yourself as well during the week. I’ll see you again tomorrow, okay?” Dean just groans in response, and Annie skates away after that, getting ready to head back to Dean’s place. Cas then stands up and walks towards Dean’s resting form.

“Sometimes I wish I could do that as well after training, but it’s not really the best idea with the ice,” Cas says. Dean looks up at him, finding Cas calm and beautiful face looking down at him with amusement clear in his expression. “Luckily, I had a pretty calm day today.”

“How come?” Dean asks from where he’s lying on the ground. Cas holds out his hand to pull him up, but Dean doesn’t react to it, instead crossing his arms over his chest and offering Cas a smirk.

“Ah you know, I told him of how I nearly got a concussion by colliding with Balthazar. I suppose the bump on my head was enough to convince him,” Cas says with a shrug. Then he sits down on the ground next to Dean and puts his hands through Dean’s short dark-golden strands of hair.  “We didn’t do any jumping, and he let me go after one hour.”

“And you’re only here now?” Dean wonders out loud. If Cas had come earlier, would Annie have stopped before she did? Or would she have continued nonetheless?

“Yes, I got to talking with Charlie,” Cas says smugly, resting his hand on Dean’s face now.

“For _three hours_?” Dean asks almost loudly, and Cas smirks even more.

“Maybe, or I could have gone to the store afterwards, who knows?”

Dean rolls his eyes, remembering that there’s indeed a supermarket not too far from here.  And he also remembers the spare key of the car that he saw Cas sneak along before they left, meaning that whatever he bought is already in the trunk.

“Can you kiss me?” Dean suddenly finds himself asking without thinking about it. Cas’ eyes go wide for a few seconds, but then he smiles again, leaning forward slightly to allow their lips to press together in the most gentle touch.

“I would like nothing more,” Cas responds after pulling away for a few seconds. After that, they resume their kissing until it’s uncomfortable and Dean has to get up again. Once they’re back on their feet, they notice Annie standing there with a grin on her face and her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking at them as if she just saw the cutest thing ever.

“No no no, go on! Don’t stop on my account!” she calls out the moment she realizes they caught her. When they shake their head and Dean skates back to the bench, Annie laughs. “Anyway, I’m out. See you tomorrow!”

And with that, Annie gets out of the room, leaving Dean and Cas behind. Dean hurries to the bench and takes off his skates to switch them back to his shoes. The moment they’re off, Cas takes them from Dean and puts them into the black bag they’re always in. Then he hangs the bag over his shoulder, and holds out his hand for Dean to hold, mirroring what Dean always does for Cas after a day of training. Dean smirks and lets himself be pulled up.

“Let’s go home,” Cas says before kissing Dean again. Dean takes a deep breath, trying not to think too much about the way Cas said ‘home’ like Dean belongs there as well. With their hands still linked together, the two walk out of the training center, and head back ‘home’, as Cas said it.

 

* * *

 

 

Training with Annie proves to be quite the challenge.

She drills him into doing everything perfectly, nail every jump and performing the way a world champion would perform. Dean knows he’s still far from it, but somehow Annie seems to think that he’s closer than he suspects.

For days, they train. They start in the late morning, and they finish in the late afternoon. They train four days a week, and the other three is mostly spent with Dean practicing whatever he learned the day before.

Dean should have known from before how exhausting it is to work with Annie. The longer he spends with her, the more he remembers just how extreme she is as a coach. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it still surprised Dean. His muscles are in a permanent sore state, and his feet have almost more blisters than healthy skin.

But he can’t regret it a single bit. He gets to practice the thing he likes the most, and he doesn’t have to hide it from anyone anymore.

Sam and Jessica come to visit for a week. Jessica and Cas get along splendidly, it’s almost scary. Sam joins Dean at a few training sessions, and it feels great to finally be able to show his little brother what he can do. Annie even lets them have two days off of training to hang out together until Sam return back to California.

After almost a month of training, Dean is allowed back into his house. After Annie decided to stay in Pontiac for a while, she went to rent a small apartment near the training center. But even after she’s gone, Dean’s place stays empty most of the time, with him staying at Cas’.

They do argue once or twice; mostly it’s about Dean leaving his dirty clothes everywhere, but once in a while there can be a discussion about the big amount of take-out they seem to order. It happens a few more times that one of them slams the door shut, and they don’t speak to each other for the rest of the evening until one of them apologizes. 

In between training and spending time with Cas, Dean finds himself a few moments to head to Jimmy’s and to just hang out with his best friend. No matter how much time there is between their meet-ups, their friendship is still as strong as ever.

Dean and Cas are even invited to a small dinner at Jimmy and Amelia’s place. That evening, they mostly talk about how married life is suiting the two of them. A happy mood goes around when Amelia announces that she’s even thinking about starting with kids. The moment she says that, Jimmy glows from happiness and pride, and Dean can’t help but admit that these two are simply _perfect_ for each other.

It’s that evening, after they return back to Cas’ place, that the pair finally make love for the first time. It’s slow, and even a bit awkward at some moments, but eventually they find something that keeps both of them comfortable and makes it enjoyable the entire time.

After half an hour, after they’re both slowly falling to sleep lying naked under the blanket, Cas finally speaks up.

“I love you,” he says. Dean’s drooping eyes open up again, and when he turns his head to the side to look back at Cas, he finds himself smirking.

“I love you, too,” Dean answers easily, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. And that’s just it, right? Sure, being together is a continuous work in progress, but even Dean has to admit that he’s never fit so well with anyone as much as he does with Cas. And while many years ago that would have scared him to death, right now it just makes him feel warm inside.

Dean’s first classes at the training center start that September, after having officially ended his contract at the Roadhouse. While Ellen had been sad to see him go, she had expressed multiple times that she’s happy he’s found something he actually likes.

The first day as a teacher is probably the most memorable one, as he’s been spending the entire week preparing lessons with Cas and Annie. With Jimmy’s help, they managed to get him thirty students in total, all divided in groups by age.

He had been so nervous when it started, but as it turns out none of the students really cared about that. All they wanted to do is learn from Dean, and that’s what they’re doing now, as the lessons progress further.

Cas’ competitive season starts again in the beginning of September with the Grand Prix-series. His first competition in the series is Skate America, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dean goes along with him there, driving them all the way in another road trip. Much to nobody’s surprise, Cas wins gold there.

His next event is in France, in Bordeaux. Since it’s another plane flight, Dean doesn’t join him that time, making it quite a stressful experience for both of them knowing that it’s the first time Cas is going to perform again without Dean around. In the end, Cas worries enough that he messes up a few of his jumps and ends up third, still earning him a place in the finale.

 Meanwhile, the championships of Inline figure skating starts as well, but Annie doesn’t think Dean is ready for that yet, so they skip the season of 2015-2016 and instead focus on the next season, which is fine by Dean since that means that he can continue his classes in peace.

He does join Cas in Barcelona for the Grand Prix finals, who ends up on second place after two excruciatingly nerve-wrecking days of constant panic and doubt.

Things get a little bit quiet after that. They spend time with Jimmy and Amelia, they visit Sam once more, and after that the championships start again and Cas is off again for the Four Continents in Taiwan and the World Championships in Slovakia. Dean only joins him in the latter competition, where Cas once again wins the title of the world champion for the seventh year in a row. That very same day, the two celebrate their first-year anniversary at a very expensive restaurant, where Cas finally asks Dean to move in with him (to which Dean replies “Aren’t we pretty much living together already?”). After returning back to Pontiac, Dean doesn’t renew his contract of the house, and with Jimmy’s help they move all of Dean’s stuff back to Cas’ place – which is now officially _their_ place since Dean’s name is now also on the contract off Cas’ house.

That summer, free of classes, Annie trains Dean non-stop, preparing him for the competitions ahead of him. The season starts in September, where he’ll have to perform a short program and a long program, both of which they’ve been working on for almost two years now. The competition will require of him to go to Italy, and though he hates the idea of flying, the fact that he will have to perform for a live audience and judges makes him dreading this even more.

Cas joins him to Novara, and so do Jimmy, Amelia, Sam and Jessica, who decided to make a holiday out of it as well. Of course, having them there doesn’t release the pressure at all, and the moment it’s his turn, he’s just about ready to bolt. Still, with the intention not to disappoint his friends, Dean doesn’t run away. His focus is not really on point, though, and he starts his short program a little bit too late. Other than that and an accidental hand on the ground after a jump, everything went well enough, and though he isn’t in the top-three, he’s still at fifth place, which is, honestly, good enough for him.

“Don’t worry, there’s more where they came from,” Annie says about the competition after he gets his results. Dean nods at her. Maybe he didn’t win, but he actually managed to finish something for once.

Annie returns to Pontiac – where she now lives permanently, Dean suspects – and Dean and Cas stay a little longer in Italy with their brothers and their wife and girlfriend. The six of them are sitting at a restaurant when Amelia finally reveals that she’s pregnant at last. Three months in, already.

That evening, Dean and Cas separate from the others to walk around at the market quietly. Their hands holding on the entire time, and though they receive a few curious expressions – mostly from children – they’re never once bothered by anybody at all.

“Dean?” Cas asks when the two of them have gotten themselves some ice cream. They’re slowly walking through a crowded evening market, giving a few short looks at the stuff they’re selling here.

“Yes babe?” Dean asks, letting go of Cas’ hand at last, but instead wrapping it around his waist to press him closer to him.

“We’ve been together for a while now, right?”

Dean nods. “About a year and half,” he clarifies, wondering where Cas is going with this. They stand still in front of an artist who is drawing out a portrait of a young teenage girl and her little sister. His blackened fingers work quickly and smoothly, drawing out the fast lines with a little piece of charcoal.

“And you’re not getting tired of me yet?” Cas teases. Dean snorts, holding out his ice cream to the side to press a long kiss in Cas’ hair.

“Never happening,” he says, not really believing how disgustingly sappy he’s being here. Cas laughs in return.

“Well, you know how last year you spent Thanksgiving at your brother’s and I spent it at my parents’ place?” Cas then eventually asks after putting his own arm around Dean’s waist. The other man nods, indeed remembering how it went last year. Dean drove all the way back to California, and Cas went back to Kentucky with Amelia and Jimmy to spend it with their parents and their other siblings.

The siblings neither Jimmy nor Cas actually ever want to talk about, Dean has quickly realized, since he never knew about them until last Thanksgiving when Cas started to complain about a certain Michael, Lucas, Gabriel and Raphael fighting again the entire time.

When Cas explained back then that those were his older brothers, Dean had been surprised, never having heard anything about that before.

“ _So you have a brother named Michael, and you dated a Michael as well?”_ he had asked jokingly. Cas had just shrugged back then.

“ _A name doesn’t make the person, right?”_  

As it turns out, Cas has five brothers and other sister called Anna. Dean doesn’t know much about them, other than that Lucas has been in jail for a while for unclear reasons, Michael owns a well-known company Dean hasn’t heard anything of before, Raphael is a lawyer, and Gabriel, Anna and Jimmy are kind of the ‘grunts’ of the family, having ‘achieved nothing great’. Still, though, owning multiple candy stores all over the world should count for something, right? And Cas once mentioned Anna being an artist in Paris. And then there’s Jimmy, who sells ads and teaches young kids to skate.

Dean isn’t too surprised that neither Jimmy nor Cas ever mentioned the entire Novak-family. Dean has only seen their parents once shortly during the wedding, and while Jimmy and his father had been embracing each other, it seemed like it didn’t go to well with their mother.

“What are you trying to ask, Cas?” Dean urges on, letting his mind wander for a little while. Cas sighs and leans further against Dean’s chest.

“Maybe we could invite our families to our place this year? Sam and Jessica can come – Jo, Bobby and Ellen as well if you want. And then I’ll invite Jimmy and Amelia and… my parents too if they want? That way, you’ll finally get to meet them?”

Dean stays quiet, biting his lip when he understands what Cas is insinuating; Cas wants them to meet. He wants them to take the next step in their relationship; one that is only one-sided since Dean has no parents to introduce Cas to, other than Bobby and Ellen who have already met the guy a few times.

“If you think it’s time for me to meet your parents, then I would love to. Though you think we can fit that many people in our house?”

“I think so, yes,” Cas answers. And with that, it is settled. After they return back to Pontiac, they start calling out to their families; Sam and Jessica get their tickets already for the flight, and they arrange for Dean to come and get them when they arrive. Cas, in turn, gets agreement from his parents that they will be there. Dean’s mouth falls open, though, when he comes with the news that they insisted his other siblings to be there as well. The moment they got that news, they got back into the car and drove to a furniture store to get a bigger table and more chairs.

September turns into October, and Cas’ first competition starts again in Chicago, Illinois, where once more Dean, Jimmy and Amelia join him to witness his victory. After that, his next event is in Bejing, China. His free skating program is the 20th of November, which means that he’s back in Illinois by the 24th with another medal to take home, though a silver one instead of a gold one.

Sam and Jessica arrive the same day as Cas, though with a few hours between them, meaning that when Dean waits for his boyfriend to arrive, he has his brother and sister-in-law by his side. Their reunion is much like the others, filled with a strong hug and many congratulations. Whenever nobody’s looking, they share a quick kiss, and then they walk back to the car hand-in-hand.

Dean, Sam and Jess start preparing for the arrival of Cas’ family while the figure skater sleeps off his jetlag, and by the time the 24th has arrived, the figure skating Champion starts to become restless.

“What’s going on, Cas?” Dean asks that morning when they’re in bed, both trying to regain their breath after the quick session they’ve just had. Trying to be quiet is _really_ exhausting, Dean finds, but it’s necessary with Sam and Jess inside the house.

“I don’t think inviting my family was a good idea,” Cas admits nervously while biting on his lower lip. “My father’s mostly just worrying about everything Lucas did wrong to care about his other children, and all my mother cares about is my career. She probably doesn’t even know I’m gay!”

Dean chuckles while shuffling a bit closer to the other man. Then he puts his hand on Cas’ chest and feels his heartbeat keeping up its fast rate. Damn, Cas is _really_ nervous, so it seems.

“Whatever happens, I’m here, and so are Jimmy, Amelia, Sam and Jess,” Dean assures him with a smile. “If they’re starting to be assholes, we’ll put them back in their place.”

Cas looks at him with big eyes, then, taking a few deep breaths but not saying anything else. It’s obvious that he’s thinking a lot, having this intense look on his face that only means that he’s arguing with himself at the moment.

“C’mon Cas, we’ll get through today, alright?” Dean asks with a smile. Cas nods then, accepting the kiss given to him. Dean leans over him once more, intending to start a new make-out session to relieve him from his nerves, but that moment seems to be when Sam decides to interrupt them.

“Hey guys, it’s probably time to go to the air-“ Sam starts, opening the door but closing it immediately when he catches them lying in their bed. “Oh my God guys! Don’t _do_ that!”

“What? Like you and Jess don’t have sex once in a while,” Dean counters teasingly, trying very hard not to imagine his brother and the sweet blonde girl together in this exact same position.

“Not when you’re around, no!” Sam snaps back, but Dean snorts in return, knowing better than that. Still, Sam is right; they should be getting ready. He gives Cas one more short kiss before getting himself out from under the covers to go get the clothes Cas has prepared for him – Cas _actually_ laid out an outfit for him to wear, as if he’s a little child about to go to his first day of school!

Cas follows shortly after, fishing out a pair of white briefs and putting them on right before leaving to the bathroom. He greets Sam when he passes him by, and Dean just snorts once again, shaking his head at the image of Cas walking around in just his underwear.

Yeah, no, Dean doesn’t think they’ll have anything to worry about with Cas’ family.

How wrong he is…


	5. Thanksgiving

Also, there is now a Deanjimstiel version of this story, written by FelixMaroussia! Make sure to check it out if you want a different twist on the story ;-) I love it already! You can find it [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10495461?view_full_work=true)!

 

 

Castiel doesn’t know how things could have turn out like that. Sure, he should probably have known that it would have ended this way, but to be real honest, it’s the sudden turn in his behavior that caught him by surprise.

There’s a cold breeze out; it’s the cool wind of the fall that touches his face as he’s running through the streets. There’s nobody outside, and in every house, the lights are on. Through some windows, he caught some families having dinner together; a scenario that reminds Castiel much of only half an hour ago, though his side must have been a tad bit more unpleasant.

He knows Dean is at the training center; it’s where he goes when he’s feeling unsettled, after all.

As he enters a new street, a stinging in his lungs appears. Sure, he’s used to working out and being in movement for a longer period of time, but the way he’s running now, with not even a single second of warm-up, it’s literally making his lungs burn. To know that he’s been running for only ten minutes, and that there are probably thirty more minutes ahead of him instantly makes him want to stop running.

The sound of a car stopping behind him surprises him, though.

“Get in,” Jimmy’s familiar voice says, and Castiel complies, not resisting a ride if that would bring him to Dean quicker.

The evening had started so fine, too.

 

* * *

 

 

_Ten hours earlier_

 

“What? Like you and Jess don’t have sex once in a while.”

Castiel finds himself blushing underneath Dean’s strong form. He’s aware that he’s completely naked underneath the sheets, and that his boyfriend’s younger brother is standing at the door, looking extremely red in the face as he tries to divert his gaze from the pair in the bed.

“Not when you’re around, no!” Sam snaps back with his arm raised over his eyes, turning his head to the side. Above Castiel, Dean simply snorts, seeming a bit smug about it all. Before Castiel can ask him to pull away so he can get dressed, Dean offers him one last short kiss right before he escapes the warmth from their comforter. Castiel can see him walk towards the clothes he’d prepared for him the evening before, knowing that otherwise Dean would just simply put on a plaid shirt and some jeans and call it a success.

Right, better not to stall this, Castiel figures. He throws the covers away from him the moment he’s sure Sam is looking away, and then he quickly crawls towards the place where he’d thrown his briefs the night before. Before Dean can even finish buttoning the buttons of his shirt, Castiel has already put on his underwear, starting his steps towards the bathroom to get himself ready.

“Hello Sam,” he greets the younger Winchester when he catches him walking away from the room. Sam doesn’t answer, instead he just his eyes and looks away the moment he notices Cas is almost ninety percent naked. The figure skater doesn’t pay much attention to him; he really needs a shower on this dreadful day.

 _It’s going to go so horribly wrong, and there’s nothing I can do about that_ , he thinks to himself. He should never have invited them in the first place. Not only is it bad enough that he suggested his parents would come, but now his brothers are appearing as well? Or, at least, Raphael and Michael are. Gabriel has told him early on that he would be celebrating with his own family, and Anna is somewhere in Paris, introducing her new exposition or something. He couldn’t get much details about it since they haven’t really spoken to each other in quite some time.

He can barely handle his parents, but he doesn’t know how he’s going to survive with both Raphael and Michael joining them as well. _Especially_ if Jimmy is going to be there.

Castiel remembers telling his twin brother about his plan to invite their parents as well. Castiel figured it was time for them to meet Dean at last, knowing that his mother wouldn’t really care, and that their father would be too distracted about Lucas doing something stupid again. If anything, it’s just another attempt of him to get his parents’ attention a little bit.

He probably stays in the shower for too long, but it helps him relax a lot. By the time he gets out his muscles feel a lot less tense and his breathing is calmed down again. Quickly enough, he gets dressed and heads to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. There he can see Jessica already keeping herself busy with preparing their dinner.

“Goodmoring Castiel, have you slept well? It’s almost noon, even” she asks happily. Castiel could not imagine a sweeter person than Jessica Moore. Despite never having met Castiel before after they returned from Shanghai, she treated him just like he has been his family all the time. Even as they’re now almost two years further, she’s probably the best friend he has other than Dean.

“I’ve slept perfectly fine, thank you,” Castiel answers while accepting the coffee she’s offering him. Dean enters the kitchen right after he’s taken the first sip, and then there are hands wrapping around his waist and lips pressing in his neck. Behind them, Castiel can hear Sam groan.

“Sam Winchester, stop acting like a child!” Jessica scolds her fiancé. Dean and Castiel both ignore them, instead preparing themselves to get to the airport. Right, it’s time to get his parents now, since they’re about to land in an hour.

Castiel is not ready, but they should probably just get this over with.

They eat a quick breakfast before Dean announces that they’re leaving for the airport. The entire drive, both men remain quiet, instead just listening to one of Dean’s tapes currently playing on the Impala’s radio. Castiel simply stares outside the entire time, in his head going through all possible scenario’s in which this evening can get extremely out of hand.

 _You shouldn’t have suggested this family-get-together then,_ a part of him tells him, but Castiel just shakes it off. He still doesn’t know what got into him when he came up with it. Back then, he just simply wanted a day to introduce Dean to his parents. What he didn’t expect was the sudden addition of Michael and Raphael. The smallest bit of comfort came when Gabriel an Anna both announced that they wouldn’t come, and Lucas of course can’t come due to being stuck in jail for reasons Castiel tries not to think too much about.

“C’mon Cas, your parents can’t be _that_ bad,” Dean suddenly says ten minutes into their drive. His hand has found its way to Castiel’s knee, and their fingers are already tangled together in a strong grip Castiel doesn’t want to let go off very soon.

“I guess I should be glad aunt Amara isn’t joining us either,” Castiel mutters to himself, thinking back of all the awkward family dinners they’ve had in the past. His dad and his aunt have ruined quite a few evenings fighting each other over the most stupid things.

“Jeesh, you’re acting as if your family could bring down the Apocalypse on us, themselves,” Dean jokes, squeezing Castiel’s fingers once more. The figure skater then takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

Right, this evening will go alright. Mother will not talk down on Jimmy for ‘only selling ads’, father will not nod off every five minutes due to another glass of alcohol too many. What is Castiel even worrying about?

Oh, right, those exact things.

Upon their arrival at the airport, a big mass of people walks out of the building; indicating that a flight must have recently landed. With a fast pace and a nervous ticking heart, Castiel pulls Dean along through the crowd and tries his best not to bump in on anybody.

He sees his parents before they see him. They don’t look much different from last year; his mother still dyes her hair brown to hide away the grey hairs. His father is looking rather bored, not seeming in the mood to have an actual conversation with his wife standing next to him.

Sometimes Castiel wonders why the two even stays together.

“Mother, father!” Castiel calls out in a greeting, letting go of Dean’s hand before they can see him. He throws Dean a short look to tell him that he’ll be back quickly, and then he walks forward to them.

“Castiel, finally! We’ve been waiting for ages!” Naomi Novak says, foregoing a greeting altogether as usual. Next to her, her husband Charles Novak rolls his eyes and sighs.

“We’ve only been here for five minutes, woman. You don’t have to exaggerate all the time,” he says. Naomi throws him an angry look he ignores. His blue eyes then come to rest on Castiel’s form standing in front of him. “Hello, son. It’s been a while.”

“It sure has been, father,” Castiel says. _Not long enough, though,_ he thinks. Knowing that his parents aren’t the hugging type, he holds out his hand and waits for his father to accept the shake. When he does, Castiel doesn’t feel particularly better at all.

“How did you even get here if you still don’t have a driver’s lisence? Are you really taking us back by taxi? I really hoped you could drive by now, Castiel…” His mother walks past him towards the exit, passing Dean by without paying him any mind. Castiel quickly hurries after her, grabs Dean’s arm and pulls him along.

“Mother, I need to introduce you to someone,” Castiel says, and Naomi stops in her tracks before turning back around with a frown. When her eyes land on Dean, her frown even deepens. Behind them, Charles catches back up.

“Who’s that? Your driver?” Naomi asks. Dean snorts at the irony and Castiel throws him an annoyed glance. Just because Dean drives him anywhere doesn’t mean that he can just respond to his mother’s words like that.

“No, this is my partner Dean. You must have read of him in one of my articles, right? They mentioned him a few times?” Castiel tries. Naomi just stares at him blankly, and the man is once again reminded that his mother doesn’t particularily care about his personal life. The only articles she keeps are the ones of his winnings. When he lost at the Olympics, she didn’t even talk to him for a few months.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Dean,” Charles says behind them, but there’s something hard in his voice. The two men turn around to see Castiel’s father hold out his hand towards Dean to shake it. Dean indulges him, and Castiel feels his heart skip a beat.

“Likewise, sir,” Dean answers, tactful as he is. Charles just stares at him, making Dean probably feel uncomfortable in general.

“How are your brothers going to get here? Have they told you anything?” Naomi asks, simply ignoring Dean and grabbing her suitcase once more. Castiel lets out a long breath and curses himself already for organizing this.

“Raphael and Michael will arrive later, but they already said they’ll take a cab,” Castiel answers, shooting Dean a sorrowful glance. “Let’s just… go to the car.”

The four of them move forward once more, leaving the airport and getting back to the Impala. Charles looks at the car in admiration, but Naomi doesn’t seem too keen on getting inside. Still, after being a gentleman and putting their stuff in the trunk, Dean opens up a door for Castiel’s mother and lets her get in.

Castiel’s stomach hurts at the sight of her glaring at Dean. Dean, on the other hand, just ignores it. He throws a soft smile at him, and as he circles around the car to get to the driver’s seat, his hand quickly grabs a hold of Castiel’s and he squeezes his fingers gently. It doesn’t last long, not more than two seconds, but it calms Castiel down enough to let out a long breath and get into the car.

Dean’s radio is still playing, though the volume is set to the lowest level. The backseat is completely quiet as Dean drives them towards their home. Castiel wonders if he needs to say something, but decides against it. What exactly can he talk about, anyway?

“So,” Charles suddenly says. Everybody looks up in surprise at the sudden start. “Dean, huh? How did you two meet?”

Dean snorts at that, and Castiel throws him a panicked look. Dean can’t talk about him being drunk, it would make his mother fuss all over him again, and not in a good way. More in a ‘you are a professional figure skater, Castiel, you can’t permit yourself to get some alcohol’ kind of way.

“Actually, I’ve been friends with Jimmy for a few years now,” Dean starts to explain without taking his eyes off the road. “Jimmy and I both do inline skating, so we got to talking. Then one day I was at work, and in comes Castiel.”

Ah, so he doesn’t elaborate too much on their meeting place. Good.

“I didn’t realize it wasn’t Jimmy, of course, so I was confused since Jimmy was going to propose to Amelia that evening.”

“And where is it you work?” the man in the backseat asks. He doesn’t sound too interested, though. Just simply as if he must ask the questions to be considered a good father. Well… that’s probably already a lost cause for him anyway.

“Ah, at Bobby Singer’s garage a little bit in town. I fix cars. Next to that, I teach figure skating to kids,” Dean explains, and Castiel could kiss him right now for keeping away the whole Roadhouse-stuff. He keeps himself in check, though.

“Ah, a figure skater as well. You’ve been competing recently?” Charles asks. Next to Castiel, Dean shrugs behind the wheel.

“Last year, did my first serious competition. Didn’t win anything, but I didn’t end up too badly, either,” he says. Castiel recalls very well the happiness Dean had showed when he still ended up in the top ten. “And anyway, in came Castiel in a very bad mood. I started to ask him what happened with Amelia, and what became of the proposal. That’s how he learned about his brother plans, and I realized I had just met Jimmy’s twin brother.”

“Oh,” Charles says, indicating that his questions are over. Naomi is still staring outside, looking at the road they’re following as if she’s trying to memorize the route to the airport. Castiel wants to assure her that nothing is wrong and that everything will be fine, but he knows she won’t listen to him.

For probably the hundredth time today, he only wishes he’d kept hit mouth shut when he proposed this idea.

After a few more minutes of the most horrifying silence, they finally arrive at the house, where they can see Jimmy’s car parked in front. Good, so his brother’s already there, Castiel thinks. He clears his throat and throws Dean a short glance in search of reassurance. Dean simply winks at him.

“Let’s get this show on a road,” he says, and Castiel nods. Then he exits the car, guiding his parents to the front door. They leave the luggage inside since they’ll be going to a small hotel afterwards. Dean already agreed to drive them there.

“We’re back!” Dean shouts the moment Castiel opens the door. He nods into the hallway as indication that his parents can walk in first. Charles nods his thanks in return, but Naomi simply ignores him. Well… at least _one_ of his parents is starting to warm up to Dean, albeit a bit slowly, Castiel supposes.

“We’re in the living room!” Jessica shouts from inside. Dean already makes his way there with Naomi and Charles behind him, while Castiel locks the door behind him. Just for a few second, he can stay back to take a breath.

“Cas?” comes from behind him, and when Castiel turns around he can see Dean approaching him slowly. “Are you okay?”

Castiel nods hesitantly before taking a deep breath.

“I’m fine, Dean. I just… needed a moment,” Castiel explains. Dean nods gently before finally reaching. Then, his hands are suddenly cupping Castiel’s cheeks, and his eyes staring deeply into his own. Castiel takes another deep breath, drowning in the stare.

“I’m here, babe,” Dean whispers gently, leaning forward to press their noses together. “It’s just one evening, and after that they’re gone again.”

“I just… don’t want you to be angry,” Castiel finally confesses.

“Angry at who?”

“At me? At my parents? My mother is surely going to say some stupid things to Jimmy, and I’ll try to stop her, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to make a scene…”

Dean smiles gently before pressing their lips together for a few short seconds.

“If she makes a scene, we’ll deal with it,” Dean assures him right before pulling back and squeezing his shoulders in another act of reassurance. “Now, come on, we’re going to have a light lunch with everybody, we’ll take a walk in the park, and after that it’s dinner time.”

Castiel nods, regretting already when Dean lets go of his shoulders and starts walking back to the living room. In silence he follows him, seeing his parents already sitting down at the table, sitting in front of Jimmy and Amelia. So far, everybody looks relaxed enough, but Castiel already knows that’s not going to last for too long.

Despite everything, his parents manage to keep things civilized with Jimmy and Amelia. Partly excited about becoming a grandmother, Naomi keeps on asking question after question about Amelia’s current pregnancy. Charles is mostly just listening and eating, probably waiting for the others to arrive.

Things get a bit more crowded once Bobby, Ellen and Jo arrive as well. Ellen as brought stuff for dinner as well, so Jessica takes her back into the kitchen to put it all away. Castiel would almost say _she’s_ the owner of the house, what with how she’s taken control of the dinner so much.

Jo teases Dean, Sam and Jimmy go along with it, and Castiel feels a surprising wave of calmness pass over him. Even when Dean announces it’s time for them to go the park and see what feast is planned there, nobody complains.

So far, Castiel hasn’t spoken any more words to his parents since the car ride. They seem interested in Sam’s life so far, suggesting he’d come to work at Raphael’s organization in New York. Dean scowls a bit when he sees Sam is actually thinking over that idea.

At the park, some sort of carnival is set up. It’s small, and mostly something put together for the kids, but Castiel still finds it wonderful to witness. He walks next to Dean when they get there. So far, they’ve kept to themselves around his parents. Castiel just doesn’t want to rub it too much in their faces, and by a miracle, Dean seems to agree with that. The group breaks apart a little bit when Jo drags Sam and Dean towards a shooting range. Bobby nor Ellen seem too surprised when the three of them manage to shoot down every single target there, earning the three of them the biggest prizes there are. Jo takes some stupid toys and gives it to a group of children passing by. Sam seems interested in finding some strange expensive looking scent candles.

“It’s for relaxation,” he defends himself when he takes them, but Castiel can see Dean stare at him with an unimpressed look on his face.

Dean, in turn, points at the gigantic plushy hanging on the ceiling. Castel feels his face redden when he sees it’s supposed to be a bee.

 _Oh, it’s for me_ , Castiel thinks. His blush gets even more when Dean hands it to him, and before he thinks about it he leans forward and kisses Dean lightly on the lips.

Then, remembering himself, he pulls away and looks around, only to see that his parents aren’t there anymore. After a few seconds, Castiel spots them at some sort of informative stand. Charles is eating cotton candy, while Naomi is staring at him in horror. Probably because of all the sugar…

“See, babe, they’re enjoying themselves!” Dean says, throwing an arm around Castiel’s shoulder before pressing another kiss on his cheek. “And I want what your father is having!”

“No, Dean! That’s pure sugar and it’s disgusting!” Castiel counters, not wanting that stuff even close to him. “You’ll fingers get sticky, and I won’t let you touch me until we’re back home and you’ve washed your hands.”

“But… Cas?” Dean complains while leaning down a bit. “I want something to eat!”

“Then we’ll get some hot dogs or something,” Castiel suggests. Dean groans but stands up straight again before letting go of Cas.

“I love you babe!” he calls out before starting to run off. “I’ll get you something, just wait here!”

Castiel snorts and shakes his head, watching his boyfriend run off towards a food stand. Next to him, Jimmy suddenly approaches, holding some cotton candy in his face.

“Want a bit?”

Castiel pushes his brother away and groans in horror. Then, that horror becomes even greater when he realizes he’s just like his mother when it comes to cotton candy. He groans louder.

“You’re such a clean-freak! How do you even put up with Dean? He’s the king of mess!” Jimmy laughs. Castiel glares at his brother, but has to admit that he’s right actually. He sighs and leans against a lantern, trying to find Dean somewhere in the crowd but not finding him.

“I’m slowly but surely training him into the cleanest boyfriend of them all, thank you very much,” Castiel counters jokingly. In truth, there’s no beginning in teaching Dean how to keep clean. It’s something Castiel has decided he’s going to have to live with from now on. So far, all he’s managed is those sudden bursts coming out of him.

Like, one day, Dean could just wake up and start cleaning the kitchen so intensely that he almost forbids Castiel to cook in there for two days straight. Dean can also sometimes get really germophobic; he avoids public toilets, opens doors with his sleeve, and starts cleaning his car the very moment a speck of dirt gets on it.

Really, it just changes from day to day. Castiel has already learned to live with it.

“Hey, how about we go and see some fortune teller? That’s like the typical thing to do at a fair, right?” Jimmy asks. Castiel frowns a bit.

“I don’t know, Dean told me to wait here while he’s getting food,” Castiel counters, but before his sentence is finished Jimmy is already pulling him towards some sort of shady looking tent.

“Dean gets to see you every day! I want a few minutes with my little brother!” Jimmy laughs. Castiel rolls his eyes, not even bothering to bring up that he’s actually older than him. Instead, he allows Jimmy to push him inside, and there they come face to face with a woman who doesn’t look anything like the typical fortune teller. Besides her eyes, of course, which are completely white.

“Ah, two brothers? Care to have your fortune told, I suppose?” the woman says with a smile on her face. She looks fierce, as if she would be able to kick them both unconscious without any sweat. “Oh my, and you’re travelling with two other men with very nice butts. Could you get them to come here, too?”

Castiel frowns, wondering if she’s talking about Sam and Dean. How could she know about them? Unless she’s seen them walking around previously.

“No no, the butt-boys stay outside, this is some brother-bonding time,” Jimmy counters with a laugh. The woman smiles as well, nodding towards Jimmy.

“I like you already,” she says, and then she holds out her hand. “I’m Pamela Barnes, and you are the twins Jimmy and Castiel Novak, am I right?”

“How do you-?” Castiel starts, and Pamela raises her eyebrows at him. Those unnervingly white eyes almost start to creep him out.

“I may be blind, but that ain’t making me _blind_ , okay?” she says, as if that’s explanation enough. Then she gestures to the pillows on the ground. Jimmy sits down immediately, but Castiel hesitates a little longer. He really should get back to Dean before he comes looking for him.

“Your lover-boy will find you again, sweetheart. He’s got your number, after all,” she assures him as she sits down as well. Castiel then follows her example and takes place next to Jimmy.

Then, Pamela holds out her hands towards the two.

“Now, I know it’s bad for business, but I can see that you’re good boys. How about I give you two readings for the price of one?”

Castiel throws Jimmy a short look. Jimmy nods with the biggest smile on his face.

“Alright,” Castiel then says, and he puts his hand into Pamela’s simultaneously with Jimmy.

“Oh, I love it when twins act so symmetrical,” Pamela says jokingly. Then she nods between them. “Close the circle, boys. Then we can get started.”

Jimmy and Castiel put their hands together, and then they wait. Pamela frowns a little bit as she does her thing, and Castiel starts to get actually curious as to what it is exactly that she’s seeing here. Surely, she can’t be a real psychic, right? That stuff just doesn’t exist.

“James Novak, you’re becoming a father, right?” Pamela asks. Jimmy nods.

“Yeah, I am,” he says proudly.

“You’re hoping to become a better parent than your parents have been. You’re hoping that you won’t put as much pressure on your child like your parents have done with you.”

Jimmy gets quiet then, and Castiel throws him a worried look. He’s always known that Jimmy has been having a hard time with their parents, but he hadn’t known this is actually something he’s been fearing.

“You’re also afraid that you won’t be seeing your best friend as much when the child is born. You already don’t see him that much anymore since your brother started dating him.”

Castiel frowns even more. That’s not supposed to happen. They’ve talked about this with Jimmy lots of time before! Castiel wants to interfere, to say something, when Pamela suddenly starts to smile.

“Ah, but you’re so happy that they’ve found each other, and you’re hoping that I will ask the question for you because you wanted to do this in a special way,” Pamela laughs, as if the mood has suddenly turned. Jimmy laughs as well, and Castiel just frowns even more.

“What’s going on?” he asks. Jimmy lets his hands go and leans backwards a bit as he laughs on.

“Ah, come on, you couldn’t have just spoken it out the way I told you to?” he asks. Pamela crosses her arms and throws him an unimpressed look.

“That’s like asking your friend to ask your crush if they like you. _So_ middle-school! You want him to be the godfather, ask him yourself,” Pamela says, and then she winks at Castiel.

Wait, Godfather? Does she mean…

“Okay, fine, Cassie, I know you’re disgusted by my sticky fingers because of the cotton candy, but c’mon bro, just be my baby girl’s godfather?”

Castiel’s mouth falls open. Baby _girl_? _Godfather_? Was this all staged? What is going on, even?

“My lord now I understand why you wanted me to ask it. You’re horrible with words!” Pamela calls out. Jimmy laughs as well, but Castiel just stays quiet, too overwhelmed about it all to really speak any more.

“Did he say yes?” somebody outside asks, and Castiel recognizes Dean’s voice. Pamela then looks up in interest.

“Oh, it’s butt-boy! Come inside, handsome!” she says, and before Castiel can really think about it, Dean is in as well.

“I think we broke him,” Jimmy instead says. Dean sits down next to Castiel, and then takes his hands into his own.

“C’mon babe, you already know you’re going to say yes, don’t leave your brother in suspense like that,” Dean urges him on with a smile on his face. Castiel lets out a small sound when his eyes meet Dean’s, but still no answer comes out right away. Then he simply nods, figuring that’s answer enough.

“That’s a yes?” Jimmy asks from next to him, and Castiel nods once more. There are tears forming in his eyes, and his throat is starting to hurt. At least, this burst of emotion is not a bad one. And when Jimmy wraps his arms around him, Castiel hugs him back strongly.

“Thank you, Jimmy,” Castiel tells him in between his tears, and Jimmy just slaps him lightly on the shoulder.

“Don’t sweat it brother,” Jimmy says, and then he pulls back and rubs those tears away. “Now, let us get that actual reading, alright?”

“Ooh, I get to do my job at last! Give me those pretty hands, lover boy,” Pamela says, reaching for Dean.

“I don’t-“ he starts, but then Jimmy pushes him and nods towards the woman in front of them.

“We’ll all get our turn, idiot. Just let her look into your near future,” Jimmy says.

“It ain’t _that_ easy, handsome. I don’t do my readings in a crowd. You two wait outside,” Pamela says, ushering Jimmy and Castiel outside. Before Castiel can actually leave the tent, he still manages to call out one last thing.

“Don’t touch his butt, please!”

That, of course, results in Jimmy dropping down on the floor from laughter, and Castiel having to explain himself to Amelia, Sam, Jessica and Jo who are staring at them in confusion. By the time Dean finally walks out, Jimmy is up again and Castiel finds himself once more pushed inside the tent.

“But-“ he starts, wanting to know what exactly she told Dean, but he doesn’t get the chance. Instead, he finds himself once more inside the tent, looking at the same woman as before.

“Now it’s your turn, handsome,” she says, holding out her hands and waiting for Castiel to take them.

“I don’t know,” he starts. Maybe he doesn’t particularly want to know what’s in store for him? Maybe he’d much rather be surprised?

“Don’t be afraid honey, I won’t be looking too far. Just into the next two years, is all,” she assures him. Castiel lets out a sigh and decides it’s best to get it all over with. He sits down, puts his hands into her own, and then he waits.

“I see gold,” she eventually says after a few long seconds of silence. Castiel clears his throat, wondering what’s new about that. Not that he’s trying to sound smug here, but he already has quite a few gold medals back at home.

But then Pamela shakes her head.

“No, no, another kind of gold. One more addition to the gold you’re going to win next season,” she says, sounding even more vague now.

“And… Dean?” Castiel dares to ask. He probably shouldn’t, not knowing what he would do if she would suddenly tell him that it’s hopeless between them.

“He’s the reason you get this gold,” Pamela answers. Then she opens her eyes. “But there’s a light storm coming at first. You’ll have to fight to keep him.”

His heart beats twice as fast now. Does that mean they’re going to have another fight? One that means they could break up? Surely, she’s mistaking, right?

“How do I know you’re not just saying things?” he asks. Pamela snorts then, but doesn’t let go of his hands.

“Oh, your sweetheart asked me the same thing. I suppose you won’t know until it happens,” she says, and that’s when she pulls back. “Your man… he’s going to scramble back. You just need to make sure he doesn’t get too far.”

Castiel just stares at her as he stands up again. Her words kind of creep him out; it’s what’s he’s been most afraid of when he got together with Dean. This is the first time he’s ever been with a man. Dean even didn’t want to be together because of that in the beginning, afraid of his father’s words from the past. Who’s to say that those words won’t just return if he’s triggered enough? Castiel doesn’t want to- _can’t_ lose him over something like that.

Once outside, he tries to shake her words off as much as he can. Upon seeing Dean, he gives him a light smile and a nod; a question if he’s alright. Dean nods in return, smiling as well only not as brightly as normally. So… whatever she said, Dean didn’t like it too much, either.

After Jimmy finally comes out at last, they all decide to go and search for the others; Bobby and Ellen wandered off somewhere, and nobody has seen Charles and Naomi Novak in the past hour. Jo pulls Sam forward as she looks for her mother. Jimmy and Dean go their way, and Cas, Amelia and Jessica go into the opposite direction. After another fifteen minutes, it’s Dean who calls Castiel to let them know they’ve found the Novak’s, and they settle a meeting place.

It’s nearing the evening by the time they’re back in the house. Jessica and Amelia immediately hurry into the kitchen, while Sam and Dean start putting up the table. Castiel heads to the cellar to pick up the bottles of wine they had put apart. When he gets back upstairs, there’s a sudden addition to four more people in his house.

Right, Michael brought his wife and their daughter along. How could he forget?

“Castiel!” his oldest brother says, walking forward to offer him three kisses on the cheek. It’s not that Michael particularly cares about his brothers, but it’s just that typical touch of familiarity that he possesses that causes him to kiss everybody he greets the French way.

“Michael! And Rachel! And Haël, you’ve grown quite a bit,” Castiel says, nodding at Michael’s blonde wife and then at their dark-haired daughter with flashing blue eyes. They stand out even more due to all the dark make-up she’s wearing, and Castiel immediately notices the piercing underneath her lips and the few rings hanging on her ears.

“There’s… blue in your hair?” he gets out without thinking about it, and Haël sighs and shrugs.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” is all she says. Then she gives him another unimpressed look and walks towards the living room, ignoring everybody else. It’s too bad, there’s nobody here of her age, really. Michael and Rachel follow her, leading for Castiel to be greeted by Raphael next.

Now, Raphael is the third-oldest of them all, and the only one adopted. He has a fierce look with dark eyes that could make people nervous, which is probably why he’s one of the best lawyers in New York. As he stands here in front of Castiel, he’s wearing what is probably one of his less expensive suits (because this is not as formal a gathering as what he’s probably used to) but still something that would cost Castiel half of his gold medals winnings. As Raphael looks at him, Castiel can feel the judging glance he’s getting.

“Castiel, I would have thought that you would have bought a bigger house after being champion so often,” Raphael says. Castiel rolls his eyes and nods towards the living room.

“You know what I think about big houses, Raphael,” he says. Raphael snorts and walks him by. Castiel can hear his parents greet the new additions, followed by some chairs scraping on the ground as everybody starts taking place at the table.

 _It’s alright. Everything is going great so far,_ Castiel reminds himself silently as he follows his brother back to the living room. There he can see Jessica, Amelia and Jimmy serve up the dinner. Dean is still busy putting glasses on the table, while Sam starts pouring wine to the people who want. Haël, though, receives a glass with coke instead.

Castiel scrapes his throat as he tries to compose himself. It’s going to be fine, he doesn’t have to worry. Maybe his family has changed? At least Anna and Gabriel aren’t here, they bring the most trouble with them by countering everything their parents say.

“Cas? Can you help me take the rest from the kitchen please?” Dean asks the moment he sees Castiel standing there. He gives him a wink and nods towards the kitchen. Castiel nods immediately and ignores the looks he’s getting from his brothers. Surely, they must not be as oblivious as his parents, right? They must be aware of their relationship?

The moment they’re in the kitchen, Dean leans against the counter and crosses his arms while staring at Castiel. The figure skater feels his heart speed up suddenly; did something happen? Did anybody say anything to Dean while he was away? Is Dean angry?

“Take a few deep breaths, Cas,” Dean tells him without moving. Castiel frowns and shakes his head.

“Why are you angry? Did something happen?” he asks, feeling himself panic before he can stop it. Dean snorts and shakes his head.

“I’m not angry, you just need to calm down,” Dean clarifies. Castiel lets out a long breath and leans forward a bit from the relief. His hands rest on his knees as he bends forward. _A few deep breaths, right, I can do that._

“Dean, is everything alright?” Jimmy suddenly asks as he joins into the kitchen. When he sees his twin hunched forward like that, a confused sound comes out.

“We’re fine, I just saw Cas getting another Family Panic Attack, so I decided to take him apart for a moment,” Dean tells him calmly. The fact that Dean has noticed that before Castiel is probably a testament of how stressed he’s actually feeling about this all.

“C’mon Cassie,” Jimmy suddenly says, pulling him up again and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “You know mom and dad care about you?”

Castiel snorts.

“Yeah, because I’m a successful World Champion Figure Skater,” Castiel counters bitterly. “It’s you they’re being crap to.”

Jimmy’s face straightens, and he takes a deep breath along with Castiel.

“That’s true, but I’ve learned not to let it bother me anymore, Cas,” Jimmy answers. This must be one of the first times that he uses _Cas_ , which is usually the nickname only Dean uses. He can’t say that it bothers him; it’s ten times better than _Cassie_ , for sure. “Gabriel has hundreds of candy stores all over the world. He’s popular as fuck and he’s not getting their love. Anna is on her way to become a real artist, and they see her as a failure. I knew what I signed up for when I decided not to become a doctor.”

Castiel nods, trying to be calmed down by his brother’s words but not knowing if it’s actually working.

“They act as if they don’t know about Dean and I,” Castiel then says, speaking out the second of his worries. Jimmy snorts and shakes his head.

“Of course they don’t. I’m pretty sure they don’t know about you and Balthazar, either,” he says. Castiel sighs, figuring Jimmy’s right.

“I introduced him as my partner,” he still tries, but Jimmy shakes his head once more while giving him an apologetic look.

“Listen, Cassie, unless you speak out the words ‘ _he is my boyfriend, the love of my life’_ or whatever else crap, they won’t see him as anything other than a _skating partner_. You should have chosen your words better.”

“Now please don’t be too melodramatic if you introduce me again,” Dean jokes in between. “Just _boyfriend_ is enough. I already hate that word enough as it is.” He walks closer before cupping Castiel’s face in his strong hands and pressing a quick kiss on his forehead. Castiel sighs once more, trying to soak in as much of this moment as he can. The two people he loves most are trying to comfort him, and there’s no way he ever wants to let this go.

“I love you,” Castiel says quietly. “Both of you.”

“And we love you, too,” Jimmy answers. “Though, me in a very different way of course, otherwise it would be weird.”

Dean snorts and Castiel slaps both men on their arms. Then Dean pulls away, and Jimmy takes Castiel’s hand. He drags his brother along when he heads back to the dining room, and Dean quietly follows behind them.

“Ah, there you guys are! We’re about to start dinner!” Amelia says as she hands Castiel the knife. Then he turns to look at Dean, who nods his way and gives him a light smile. Everybody sits down, and Castiel takes the last remaining seat in between Dean and Jimmy.

“Uhm, right,” Castiel says, feeling a bit surprised that he’s the one allowed to start it.

Despite Dean, Jessica, Jo, Bobby and Ellen not being religious at all, Castiel is glad to see them actually participating during the prayers. Underneath the table their thighs touch, while above they keep a good distance between them. Everybody lets out a few words of thanks before they finally dig in.

Everybody starts making small talk then. Naomi asks Michael how his business is doing. Raphael and Sam get to talking about their profession. Charles asks about Jessica’s work at the hospital now that she’s an actual practicing nurse. Haël looks bored the entire time until Jo engages her in conversation.

It’s peaceful, and finally the type of family dinner Castiel has always wanted. Right now, Castiel really feels content

That’s of course when he should have realized it was bound to turn to shit.

“So, Dean and Castiel, how did you two actually _get_ together? I’m pretty sure the TV didn’t cover it all,” Michael suddenly asks. He has his eyebrows raised as he looks at the couple on the other side of the table. Dean only looks up, but Castiel finds himself dropping his fork in the middle of putting it to his mouth.

“Michael, I’m pretty sure the TV didn’t talk about them becoming skating partners,” Naomi says sternly. Now Castiel finds himself choking on the piece of meat that was still in his mouth.

“Skating partners? Mother, you know those are only male-female! Besides, Dean does inline skating if I’m correct, right?” Michael urges on. Dean just nods as if everything is normal, but Castiel starts to feel warm all over his face. Is that his heart beating wildly? And what is that suddenly on his hand?

Oh, that’s Jimmy, attempting once more to calm him down.

“Yup, though I’m not too bad at ice skating either,” Dean says proudly. “Cas here is trying to do some pair skating with me, though he still hasn’t managed to convince me.”

“But, if he’s not your skating partner, what is he?” Naomi asks in confusion. Charles rolls his eyes and takes another sip of his wine in a probable attempt to ignore his wife. It’s Raphael who answers the question.

“I think it was pretty clear that they’re in a relationship. They _did_ admit it on live TV back in Shanghai,” he says, copying his father by raising his glass and taking more wine. Naomi’s mouth falls open from confusion.

“They’ve been together for a little more than one year and half, I think,” Jimmy then says. “They’ve been pretty inseparable the moment they’ve met. Do you know that Castiel went to Dean’s house immediately after returning from Korea? That’s of course when I knew they were going to end up together.”

Why? Why is Jimmy telling them this? Is he trying to get the attention on to himself? He should talk about something else then.

“Surely, mother, you must have known about his previous boyfriend Balthazar? They were together for a while as well but then our little brother got dumped for – what was it? Being crappy in bed?”

And _that’s_ what gets a reaction out of Dean, who drops his fork and knife a bit too loudly onto the table and stares at Raphael as if he’s ready to murder him. No, this is not the time to react, Castiel realizes. He puts his hand onto Dean’s, hoping that will calm him down enough.

“Raphael!” Charles calls out sternly, but Raphael just snorts and rolls his eyes before resuming his meal.

“I, for one, think they’re good together,” Ellen says. “Even though I lost my best barman because of it, Castiel _did_ convince Dean to start teaching.”

“I do miss Dean at the bar! It was fun to tease him all about his obvious crush on Cas!” Jo adds, and Haël lets out a laugh at that. Michael turns to look at his daughter with a stern face, and the teenager then immediately stops.

“But… what about children?” Naomi then asks. “If you’re with a man, you won’t have children. You need to be with a woman, Castiel!”

“Now wait a minute, there are ways for two men to have-“ Dean starts, but then Castiel interrupts him.

“I’ve never wanted children, mother,” he admits. That’s when Dean turns his head abruptly his way, letting his mouth fall open in surprise. Right, this is something he never discussed with Dean. Castiel just never really thought it was something that needed to be brought up right now.

“You don’t want-?” Dean asks, but he stops the sentence before he can finish it.

“What do you mean you don’t want children? I want a successful lineage, Castiel! I want to be a proud grandmother of a future new figure skating champion that will follow in their father’s footsteps!”

Castiel crosses his arms and shakes his head.

“That’s not going to happen, because I’m not having children. I’m not getting a woman pregnant to have one, nor am I going to adopt. I do not want them, and there’s nothing that is going to make me change my mind about that.”

The table is silent after that. Everybody not involved in the conversation looks down awkwardly. Dean is tense next to Castiel. Naomi is simply glaring at her son.

“I thought you were better than this,” she then suddenly says. Great, here it comes. The fight they have during _every_ family dinner. Though, mostly, it’s Jimmy they’re angry at. Castiel feels at least a little bit better that his brother is not involved with it this time. “All I wanted was for my children to be successful, and to have a successful family of their own. All I ended up with is a _porn_ -director who sells candy, a hippie in Paris, an _inline skating teacher_ , and now a gay son who doesn’t want to have _children_. And I thought I raised you all better than this.”

“Isn’t it ironic, though, that out all that, you forget to mention the son who is currently stuck in jail for being a serial killer?” Castiel snaps at her.

“ENOUGH!” Charles then shouts out angrily. Of course, Lucas has always been his soft spot. The only way to rile him up is by mentioning his precious Morningstar. “Nobody talks about Lucas. How dare you even bring him up again?”

“I dare because apparently my lack of wanting children is a crime even worse than what he’s done to all those women!”

“Dean, are you alright?” Sam suddenly asks in between. That’s when Castiel turns to look at his boyfriend again, only to find him staring at his plate with a pale face. His jaw is clenched, and his hands are made into tight fists.

“I’m sorry, I need a moment,” Dean says right before scraping his chair over the floor and standing up again. When Castiel moves to follow him, he gives him a sharp look that tells him otherwise. _Oh, Dean needs to be alone_ , Castiel realizes. He gulps and decides to stay put.

It still hurts when he sees Dean walk out of the room, probably heading for their bedroom or the bathroom. It hurts even more when Sam still follows after his brother, probably being the only person Dean would want to talk to right now.

Dinner is pretty much over after that. Naomi insists on heading to the hotel, and Charles orders a cab to get them there. Neither have said another word to Castiel after that. Raphael announces his departure along with them, not seeming too interested in staying here for much longer. He gets into his stupid expensive car after that, and drives off.

Michael and Rachel still help out a little bit with cleaning up, but they, too, leave quickly after that. By now, an hour has passed and Sam nor Dean have returned. By the time Castiel walks Michael and his family out he finally realizes that the Impala is no longer there.

“Dean?” Castiel then shouts through the house, not expecting an answer at all but still waiting for it. A few curious heads come to look into the hallway when Castiel calls out for his boyfriend. From further away, Jessica then calls out after Sam.

There’s no answer. They search the house twice, but there’s no Winchester inside.

 _The training center,_ Castiel then realizes. Without saying a word, he hurries out of the front door. He knows it’s an hour-walk to the skating rink, but right now he doesn’t care. He runs, barely feeling the ground underneath his feet.

 

* * *

 

 

They see the Impala the moment they drive on the parking lot.

“He’s here,” Castiel says. Jimmy just hums next to him. Without caring about the parking stripes on the ground, he just rushes towards the entrance of the building until he stops the car in front of it. It’s not an official parking spot, but there’s nobody here to care about that.

“Let’s go,” Jimmy says. He takes out the keys from the car and locks up behind him. Castiel hurries himself through the entrance, already knowing the way to where Dean always goes to practice. The lights are on, and he can hear heavy music turned on.

 _Dean_ , he thinks. With big steps, he gets himself in the room where he finds Sam sitting in the sidelines with his arms crossed and a serious expression on his face, and Dean skating away on the open and free rink.

“He’s been like this for the past hour,” Sam says the moment he notices Castiel and Jimmy walking in. “He hasn’t spoken a word to me. Didn’t even want me to come with at first.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Castiel asks, hurt that they would just leave like that. Sam just shrugs.

“He didn’t want anybody to know. He was already pissed, so I didn’t want to bother him more,” Sam explains. Then he clears his throat and stands up again. “Jimmy, how about we’ll wait in the hallway for a moment?”

Jimmy gives Sam a long look before he finally nods. Castiel’s eyes widen then; they’re going to leave him here to talk with Dean? What if Dean doesn’t want to talk right now?

Sam then hands him a bag; it’s the same bag Dean has to put his Snow White’s in. From the way Sam is holding it, it’s clear that the skates are still inside. But that means-

Dean is skating in his inlines.

Oh no, he’s _seriously_ pissed if he brought up his inlines again.

“Put them on, go to him. I figure he’s calmed down a little bit by now,” Sam says. Castiel takes the bag and nods at the younger Winchester before watching him go. Jimmy then squeezes his shoulder in good luck before leaving with him. Castiel watches them go with dread going all through his body.

_Come on, it’s Dean. I can talk to Dean._

So he silently puts up the Snow White’s, stumbles a little bit when he tries to get used to the difference, and eventually skates towards his boyfriend who is currently aggressively practicing his jumps.

“Dean?” he tries, but no answer comes from him. Dean instead skates further away as he prepares himself for another jump. It starts out great, but it fails in the end and Dean ends up falling on his side. Castiel sighs before skating his way again and kneeling next to him.

“Talk to me, Dean,” Castiel almost begs of him. He doesn’t dare to hold out his hand, afraid of Dean pulling back from him. Dean leans on his arms as he tries to get himself back up, but the moment their eyes meet, he drops back down again.

“Just leave me alone for now, Cas,” Dean pleads. Castiel is almost inclined to follow and head out, right before he changes his mind.

“No,” he then says. “We are in a relationship; therefore, we talk to each other about what’s bothering us,” Castiel counters. Dean then snorts in return.

“Like you talked about the fact you didn’t want children _before_ it was mentioned at dinner?” he mutters. Castiel frowns and puts his hands on his hips as he looks down at his boyfriend getting himself back up.

“I don’t see why I should have mentioned that before?” Castiel counters. “I don’t want children, that’s not something I am obliged to say at our first date. How am I to just assume that you _want_ children?”

“Everybody wants children!” Dean almost shouts. Castiel then glares back at him and shakes his head.

“Not _everybody_ wants children. There are lots of people on Earth that don’t wish to have children. It’s just something that is expected from everybody. People always act shocked and disgusted when it turns out somebody doesn’t _want_ a family.”

“ _I_ wanted children, Cas,” Dean then says, voice pained and broken. His eyes are red and tired. He stands up again and shifts uneasily on his skates. “I’ve always wanted children. I just didn’t expect you wouldn’t.”

Castiel stays silent then. He crosses his arms and lets out a deep sigh as he watches his boyfriend mourn his family wish.

“My parents don’t love me,” Castiel then says. “They probably don’t really love _any_ of their children. Or maybe my father does, but I suppose all emotion has left him after finding out Lucas murdered all those women.”

Dean looks up at him at last.

“My mother didn’t want any children. My father did. So they had them. They had many of them, because Naomi only agreed to have them if they would become successful. And they _did_ become successful.

“But in the end, our mother doesn’t love _us_. She loves our careers. Which is why she prefers to pretend Jimmy’s not there, or Gabriel, or Anna or Lucas. And that’s why I would have thought she would understand my lack of wish for children. But she doesn’t, because she still had children, despite not wanting them.”

Dean stays quiet.

“I don’t want children, not because of my upbringing. Not because I hate them, I _love_ children, in fact. I don’t want children because that’s just who I am.”

Dean drops his gaze again as he starts skating forward once more. Castiel follows him, but he stays a little bit behind him. Good, it’s going alright so far.

“Dean?” Castiel asks after another few minutes of just skating. Dean then stands still and turns back around towards him. His eyes are still red, but he looks less angry now. At least that’s a relief, though Castiel doesn’t like that sad expression.

“I respect your wishes, Cas, I really do. And I love you, don’t think that I don’t. I was wrong to just assume that you wanted kids, but I still did. And now I need a moment to let go of those dreams, so please, just… let me skate for a little moment.”

Castiel stares at him for a few seconds before nodding. He leans forward and presses a soft kiss on Dean’s cheek before pulling away again and heading to the sides. A long breath escapes from his lips, and the urge to wrap Dean in his arms is now stronger than ever. His throat hurts somehow, and his eyes sting.

Oh, he’s been crying as well.

He sits down at the sidelines, watching his boyfriend practice his program more and more but failing with the heaviness of his inlines. Castiel then looks down at the Snow White’s he’s currently wearing. Dean shouldn’t have put on his old pair. He should have taken these. Without any question, he takes the skates off, and gets back into his normal shoes.

The next time Dean falls down, Castiel is there, kneeling besides him and clipping open the skates before Dean can say anything about it.

“What are you-?” he asks. Castiel pulls off one skate, and puts on the other. As he ties the laces, his eyes meet Dean’s again.

“Your emotions make you want to fail. I want to see you win,” he says. He leans forward once more to kiss him on the lips, and after tying up the second skate, Castiel picks up the green inlines and carries them back to the sides. “Now show me what you can do, Dean Winchester.”

And so Dean does. And Castiel knows that they’re not okay yet – they probably won’t be in a while. But he’s certain that they’ll get through this, because it’s _them_ after all.


	6. What it once was: first draft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, I kind of wanted to share how the very first draft of the story looked like. A lot of things have changed here ever since I wrote it back in 2013. Obviously, it's unfinished, but with this you might see how the story might have looked like! :-)

 

 

One day, it simply happened. Dean had just finished practicing, planned on saying Jimmy goodbye, and be on his way home. He had already packed up his roller-skates, put on his leather jacket, and got himself ready to wave at his friend Jimmy, when he saw the trainer run up to him, gesturing the skater to wait. Dean simply frowned at that, because, despite that Jimmy was one of his best friends, the man never interrupted the training to for a simple chat. Jimmy was serious about his job as a trainer, set on teaching the kids all the basics, not to fall too much, and eventually even tricks. But now, the young man had his hand in the air, and wanted Dean to wait. So he just did.

“Dean, before you go, I need to ask you something,” he said, turning to look at his students, who were waiting for him, and silently listening to the conversation they were about to have. Dean grinned at knowing that, and planned on a little teasing.

“Aw, Jimmy, I know how you feel buddy, but I just don’t swing that way,” Dean said, jokingly. Jimmy’s face turned bright red, and his big blue eyes got even bigger. His mouth was pressed into a thin line, and Dean saw he recently shaved, and messed up a little bit on the right side of his chin. Dean grinned when he heard the students laugh as well. Jimmy looked down, and scratched his hair, chuckling a little bit and shaking his head.

“Still got that very bad humor apparently,” Jimmy muttered, gesturing his students to be silent. After that he turned back to Dean. “No, I wanted to ask you if you and your brother were interested in going to my brother’s ice-skating competition. Normally I’d ask Amelia and Claire since my brother’s so uneasy around new people, but they’re at the zoo today, and I really don’t want to go alone.”

Dean just stared at him, mouth dropped open.

“Dude, I’ve known you for three years, and not even once you introduced your brother to us. Why do now all of the sudden?” he asked, not meaning to question his friendship, but still curious about the change. Jimmy only shrugged, but looked up at Dean.

“I’m a married man with child now; I can’t be there for my brother all the time anymore, so I want to make sure he has friends he can count on. You are a good friend to me, and I’m sure you and Castiel would get along,” Jimmy said, doing his best at giving Dean those puppy-eyes. There were only two people who could convince Dean in doing something with only their eyes, and those were his brother Sam and Jimmy. Now Dean realizes that, if he would meet Jimmy’s mysterious twin brother, that number would go up to three. Dean only shook his head, let out a laughing breath, and then nodded all of the sudden.

“Yeah okay, I’m in. I’ll ask Sam if he wants to come along then, if he has no plans with Jess tonight,” Dean said. Jimmy smiled now, starting to skate backwards toward to his students, but still with his eyes on Dean.

“Jess can come along too,” Jimmy informed. “I’ll see you at the skating course around seven, alright?”  And then he resumed his training, ordering the kids to stand back up and start skating in the given direction. Dean only shook his head, softly laughing, and wondering what he was putting himself in to tonight. Then he grabbed his skates back off the floor, waved at the few kids who were following his every move, and finally left the building. He was home ten minutes later than usually, and when he told Sam and Jess what his plans were, the two agreed on coming, enthusiastic about actually seeing a skating-show that was not about speed, but about grace. Dean shook his head, and wondered who of the two the biggest girl was.

 

* * *

 

 

Jess had a little trouble getting in to the car, what with her enormous pregnant belly, but when she was finally seated inside Sam joined her on the backseat, held her hand, and kept looking at her. Dean was shaking his head with the rhythm of the music, slammed along on the steering wheel, and softly hummed the melody when they got to the first verse.

When he finally arrived at his destination, he searched for a parking spot, recognizing Jimmy’s car and taking the empty place next to him. There weren’t a lot of cars yet, but he was fifteen minutes early, so that would probably be normal. After helping Jess out of the car, the married couple followed Dean to the building, holding each other’s hands and talking about something that would probably be baby names. Dean didn’t want to bother them, didn’t want to intrude, so he kept silent as he searched for Jimmy’s familiar face, and when he found him, the man was already gesturing at him. His dark brown hair looked as messy as always, and Dean actually had to laugh at how his best friend looked. He was wearing way too large clothes compared to his slender figure, and he was often unshaven, unlike today.

“Hi, follow me,” he said, greeting Sam and Jess with a soft nod, which was returned with a bright smile from both of them. They looked so happy together, and it made Dean feel proud of them.

Jimmy gave a quick “hi” to the person at the entrance after showing a little card, and told him in a strangely low gravelly voice that Dean, Sam and Jess were family. Dean also saw how his normally friendly face now looked serious, and strict, as if he was losing his patience. Without any questions, the four of them were allowed in. Jimmy led them through the seats, trying to find a place that had the best view of the entire skating course. Dean was glad that he had remembered to wear warm clothes, and sat down between Jimmy and Sam.

“What’s with your voice?” Dean then asked, remembering the sudden change when the man spoke to that person. Jimmy only chuckled, but didn’t remove his eyes from the ice. He took out that card from his pockets, and gave it to Dean without looking at him. Dean took the thing, and saw a picture of Jimmy there, straight forward, some sort of member pass. But when he read the name on it, it wasn’t what he expected.

“Novak, Castiel?” he asked, frowning. “You’re impersonating your brother to get in free, aren’t you?” he asked, grinning widely at realizing that. Jimmy shrugged lightly.

“Normally I wouldn’t have to; my brother would tell them that I was allowed in. But then Castiel decided he didn’t want to see anyone before the show, so he gave me a copy of this card, which would allow me entrance,” he said. “Castiel’s voice is lower and rough, and he doesn’t smile a lot, but I’ve learned how to impersonate him, so yeah… Perks of having a twin, right?”

Dean nodded, and looked at the picture again. He actually never saw anything that would prove Castiel was real person, but looking at this picture, he definitely saw the differences. Castiel’s hair was neatly, in contrary to his brother. He was obviously unshaven, but a little bit more than his brother. And his eyes were different; Jimmy smiled with his eyes, gave away a friendly vibe, but looking at Castiel, and Dean could only see unemotional blue eyes, as if they were telling him he had lost all hope. This Castiel looked as if he had a past he didn’t want to talk about. His lips were normal, slightly curled downwards.

“He looks sad,” Dean said, frowning a little bit. Jimmy only nodded, and his face fell a little bit too.

“That’s why he needs friends,” Jimmy said. Then he sat up straight, and waved at someone further away. There Dean saw Jimmy standing at the edge of the course. No, not Jimmy, but Castiel. The man wasn’t smiling, lightly waved back, and turned away then, back inside. Dean had to admit he looked kind of frightened at seeing Dean.

“Did he just panicked because we are here?” Sam asked before Dean could, and Jimmy just shrugged.

“He just doesn’t know you yet,” he explained, and now Sam and Dean looked at each other with surprised expressions. If they wanted to be friends with this Castiel, they would have to work on his trust first. Jess didn’t notice their silent conversation, grabbed Sam’s hand, and pointed at the skating-course, where the first contestants got ready to start their act. Dean sat up straighter, trying to keep his mouth shut about the man’s tight clothes, or about how hot that girl looked in those few clothes. He knew Jimmy didn’t share that humor, and Sam and Jess both had told Dean multiple times that he wasn’t that funny.

They moved together, skated over the ice, made long movements. Sometimes they jumped, the guy would pick up the girl in the air, and carry her for a few seconds, before setting her back on the ice without trouble. He had to admit that, though it really isn’t something for him, it looked kind of awesome. Luckily, Sam couldn’t read his mind, or he wouldn’t be able to hear the rest of it.

The next two pairs did things of almost the same genre, moving peacefully together, trusting each other blindly. Though Dean had been entranced at first, now he was beginning to find it boring though. So when Castiel’s turn was, Dean was already slumped in the back of his chair, working on keeping his eyes open. It was only because Jimmy poked him in the arm that Dean noticed the boy’s twin brother had his turn.

Castiel, along with a redheaded woman, skated to the middle of the course. Even from this distance, Dean could see the serious, empathic expression on his face. The girl was smiling at him when he put his arms around her waist. He startled a little when she held on his shoulder. They were waiting for the music to begin, and when it did, it was as if this Castiel-guy was a whole new person. His face was calm all of the sudden. His eyes were closed, and he skated backwards, still holding the girl’s hands.

Immediately, Dean’s interest in this event got back up. The other contestants were boring; they didn’t put any feeling in it (Dean knew enough about any skating to know that). But Castiel, well, skating seemed to change him for the better. He made graceful moves, put his soul in every trick he performed, and the girl followed him through it. They were amazing. At the end, Castiel was holding the girl up, while spinning countless times. It seemed impossible, but yet he did it. After they were done, they stood there for a while, didn’t move. Both of them were catching their breath, and the girl was smiling. Castiel’s face, though, Dean saw it falling back. It made Dean’s chest ache, that this man could have gone through something that bad that there was never a smile on his lips. When he turned to Jimmy, he saw his brother grinning widely, obviously proud. He was clapping along with the others. It looked as if he would jump out of his chair and hug his brother in front of all these people. He didn’t, though, and after Castiel and the girl – the guy that gave the presentation introduced her as April – got away, two other contestants got ready to take their places. Jimmy then nodded at the brothers.

“I’m going to him, want to come with?” he asked, gesturing at the place where Castiel and April were now congratulated by other people.

“We’re going to keep watching,” Sam said for him and Jess. The two smiled at him for a little.

“I’ll come,” Dean said without really knowing why. In the end, he decided it was because there was no us in postponing their introduction. Jimmy walked downstairs, some people looked at him strangely because he looked so much like Castiel, and Dean followed him. The other two skaters had already started their dance, and the intro of ‘Chicago’ was playing in the whole room.

When they reached Castiel and April, Jimmy’s smile was very bright. He greeted April, and then wrapped his arms around his twin brother, whose eyes got big, and the panic seemed to get him again. It was only when Jimmy let go of him that he was able to relax again.

“Bro, that was really awesome,” Jimmy said, oblivious of how Castiel reacted on any physical contact. Dean knew that panic. Castiel didn’t like people touching him, didn’t trust strangers. It couldn’t be denied that this man really had been through something terrible. But Dean didn’t comment on it, he just stood there a little behind Jimmy, watching the brothers interact.

“Where are Amelia and Claire?” Castiel asked, not bothering to look at Dean.

“To the zoo, this is Dean,” Jimmy said, pulling Dean towards the bothers, and nudging him to say something. Dean reacted immediately.

“Yeah, uh, Dean Winchester,” he said as he offered the man his hand to shake. Castiel took it hesitantly, and he didn’t put much force in it. “I skate with your brother,” he added. Castiel nodded lightly, pulled his hand back, and frowned.

“Why would you drag him along?” he asked his brother. And while Jimmy was explaining himself to his brother, Dean turned to April, who shook his hand without any hesitation.

He learned that April was 25 years old, did ice-skating since she was five, and has been Castiel’s partner for four years now. Castiel, though, kept to himself despite his brother’s reassurance. Dean would have a lot of work with him.

 

After struggling and begging for almost half an hour, Jimmy came out as the winner of the discussion, and they all went to the roadhouse. Jimmy had said to his brother that it was for congratulating him on winning the contest – which he did, of course – but Sam, Jess and Dean all knew it was just to force Castiel in making friends.

At first they didn’t try to let Castiel join the conversation. Dean understood that that was so he could get used of the company. Sam and Jess made conversation with Jimmy about the due date. They didn’t know yet if it was a boy or a girl, because they didn’t want to ruin the surprise. Dean could accept that, and didn’t push them in to taking the test.

Dean noticed only after half an hour that he too was awfully quiet. He was happy to listen to his brother’s stories about how he and Jess met, and didn’t have any input to add. So he was just staring, and smiling, and drinking.

But then he remembered the man sitting between him and Jimmy. The uneasy, socially awkward ice-skater who was dragged here against his will. He had been silent as well, but in fact so quiet that Dean had even forgotten he was there. So, while Jimmy was talking with Sam and Jess about the domestic life with children, Dean turned around to the quiet man next to him, and smiled at him.

“So, that show, that was something,” Dean said hesitantly, not really knowing how to strike up a conversation with him. Castiel eyed him cautiously, kept his lips sealed but nodded. “That April, she your girl?” he then asked nonchalantly. Maybe this would loosen him up a little. Dean took another swing from his bottle of beer and his eyes never left Castiel.

“No, April is a friend,” Castiel answered shortly.

“She did ask you out a few times though,” Jimmy suddenly said teasingly, and Castiel rolled his eyes but didn’t answer. Jimmy poked him in the arm. “Loosen up, Cassie, we’re here among friends,” he said.

Once again Castiel didn’t say anything, but Dean could read his answer in his face. _Among your friends, not mine. You dragged me here against my will._ Even Jimmy had noticed it – of course, they were twins. Things like that were easier for them to notice. Sam and Jess coughed softly, already standing up after sensing the tension at the table.

“We’ll be going now, we have an appointment at the doctor,” Sam said, helping Jess put on her coat. Dean frowned because he didn’t know of any appointments. It was probably just an excuse to get away. Maybe Dean should go to, so that the twins could talk things out. But he didn’t really want to go already, he wanted to befriend this guy, he wanted to help him.

So he ignored the pointed look Castiel was giving him, and Jimmy silently thanked him by nodding. Dean just sat back, waved his hand in a gesture for them to continue whatever they were talking about.

But, in the end, it was Castiel who cut the outing short.

“I really want to go home, Jimmy,” he said with his head lowered after another hour of just listening to conversations about nothing. Dean now felt sorry for the guy who was so uncomfortable that he lifted his eyebrows at Jimmy, opening his hands in a questioning gesture. Jimmy sighed loudly.

“Okay, but I have to pick up Amelia and Claire first,” he said, picking up his car keys that had been lying on the table. “Dean, you drive in the same direction Cassie needs to go, you mind giving him a ride?”

“I don’t mind coming with you,” Castiel said to his brother, but Jimmy held up his hand to silence him, looking at Dean, waiting for his answer.

“Eh, it’s no big deal, I can take him home,” he answered then, knowing that this wasn’t really a good idea. What was Jimmy’s deal pushing his brother like this, while it was obvious that he was very uncomfortable?

“Okay, Cas, I know you don’t like strangers, but Dean here is a very good friend of mine, and I would trust him with my life. He’s gonna get you home safely, okay?” Jimmy asked, holding his brother by the shoulders. Castiel swallowed loudly, sighed and closed his eyes. After that he nodded, turning his head to Dean to look at him.

The three walked to the two cars parked next to each other. They waved goodbye to Jimmy, and then the man was already driving away in the opposite direction of where they were headed. Castiel was biting his lips, and then looking up at Dean, visibly scared off.

“Don’t worry Cas,” Dean said reassuringly. That seemed to make Castiel even more uncomfortable. When the two were seated inside the car, Dean saw that Castiel had made fists of his hands, and kept his eyes glued to the road even though Dean hadn’t started the motor.

“Where to?” Dean asked. He memorized the address Castiel was whispering to him, remembering that that was indeed not far from where he lived. That would have been maybe a ten-minute walk from his house.

The drive was, to put it gently, very awkward. Dean didn’t dare to turn on the music because he was literally scared Castiel would have a panic attack. He didn’t start any conversations because his words would be ignored. He knew he was being watched by his passenger, so he didn’t dare to turn to look at him. No, this was really awkward to say the least, because the tension in the car was unbearable. As soon as they arrived at the house, Castiel unfastened his seatbelt, and was outside the car before Dean could even say anything. Castiel hesitated in closing the door, probably trying to figure out whether or not to say anything.

“Thank you, Dean. It was… nice to meet you,” he said, frowning but sounding honest. Dean nodded at him and put his hand up in a dismissal gesture.

“Don’t mention it. Nice to meet you too,” he said. Castiel looked at him for a little longer before dropping his gaze and standing up straight again. He closed the door of the car and walked over to his house, fumbling with keys to get the right one. It was only when he was inside that Dean drove away.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day at training Dean cornered Jimmy. The man still had a few minutes before his training started, and Dean was planning on being quick. He ignored the looks from Jimmy’s early students when he dragged him away by the arm, out of earshot from the children. He was already on his skates, but that felt so natural for him that he wouldn’t fall.

“What the Hell, dude? Wasn’t it clear that your brother was uncomfortable to say the least?” he asked in a hissing tone. Jimmy turned his head away from Dean, and looked at his hands.

“He needs to make new friends, Dean,” Jimmy then answered, but that wasn’t enough of an answer to him.

“Okay, yeah, but you didn’t have to _push_ him to ride with me? He didn’t mind coming with you!” Dean snapped back. He knew that the kids were staring, and that they always thought that Dean and Jimmy were secret gay-lovers, but right now he couldn’t care less about what the kids thought of them.

“It worked, okay? He likes you, Dean,” Jimmy snapped back. “Castiel doesn’t like people, and still he has no objections in meeting with you again, so okay, yeah, he’s not great at showing it, I don’t know what ever happened to him to make him distrust people this much, but you didn’t push him in talking, and that was exactly what he needed.”

“Yet you pushed him?”

“Because I wanted him to start trusting you,” Jimmy said. “Look, I’m sorry if you don’t want to be friends with him, I just thought-“

“I never said I don’t want to be friends with him,” Dean said, frowning. “I don’t mind hanging out with Cas, I just don’t want him to mind hanging out with _me_.”

At that Jimmy fell silent, looking apologetic at his best friend. After a long silence, he took a deep breath, and continued talking. “He doesn’t mind, it’s just a little hard for him.”

Dean just nodded at that, because, what else could he do? He waved at Jimmy to gesture that he could go, continue teaching the kids. He turned around, and started skating, trying to forget Jimmy for a little moment. He was skating and skating, didn’t stop. He kept on going faster until he himself knew that he could seriously hurt himself if he fell. After that he slowed down just a little bit, and almost sat down, wheels still rolling under him. It was difficult to keep balance like this, but he could manage it just fine. He knew that the kids were paying more attention to him than Jimmy – he didn’t mind because it would piss Jimmy off and that was just what he deserved right now. Dean didn’t really know why he felt like this, so protective over a person he just met the day before. Yeah, okay, Cas seemed like he wanted to faint on the spot, but Dean never really paid much attention about others before. It was mostly just Sam, Jess and Jimmy that he cared about, because he knew them a while now.

But Cas had looked so broken, so lost. Dean could see that, even though he pulled back from people, he was deprived from social contact. It was Jimmy’s full right to think Cas needed friends, but Dean had just wished it would have been on Cas’ terms and not on his brothers.

When Dean got a cramp in his legs, he stood up again, speeding up just a little bit. He did the usual tricks; skating backwards, skating on one leg, jumping, the obstacle course. Roller-skating wasn’t as graceful as ice-skating. It wasn’t much different, but somehow roller-skating seemed rougher. Dean couldn’t really explain why he thought that way, but only that, even though it was done, he didn’t really see Jimmy do all those tricks his brother did yesterday.

But then Dean got curious. The hour was halfway over, and the kids were now skating rounds for speed, making the middle clear. He moved to the center, trying to make himself as light as possible. He hadn’t really tried it before, but it couldn’t be that hard, right? He knew the technique – it had been explained by him ages ago when he went ice-skating with his friends – but he never put it to practice. First time for everything, right?

Of course, spinning wasn’t something he learned immediately. Yes, he managed it with both skates on the ground and feet spread open. It didn’t go very fast and was easier with a partner. No, Dean wanted more than that, so he started to lift one foot, not really thinking this through and immediately falling on his ass.

“Ouch,” he muttered, not even trying to stand up. He dropped his shoulders, laughed softly at his failure, and had forgotten about his audience. When he looked up, he saw Jimmy almost falling on the ground, laughing his lungs out. The other kids had different reactions. Some laughed as well, others were just looking mockingly, and another few – the ones who had a crush on Dean – looked at him worriedly. Dean remained on the ground, leaning back and gesturing the kids to continue skating. Jimmy repeated the instruction, and then went to the middle as well, dropping down next to Dean.

“That was just awesome, dude,” Jimmy said, wiping away the tears from his face. Dean didn’t react, so Jimmy took that as a sign to continue. “I mean, at first we were all thinking ‘what is he doing?’ and then you started spinning, barely faster than my newest student if  have to be honest.”

“Yeah, well, I just wanted to try something,” Dean said, looking at his friend now, taking in his messy hair. Dean smiled when Jimmy smiled as well, and well, he couldn’t stay mad on his best friend now, could he. He grabbed Jimmy by the shoulder, and knuckled his head, making Jimmy yelp and struggle.

“Everybody! Meat pile on Jimmy!” One of the oldest kids yelled, and now the kids were screaming as well, all of them racing to the middle where Dean and Jimmy were sitting, and one by one dropping themselves on the two.

It was Jimmy who begged them to get off, claiming that he couldn’t breathe. Reluctantly the kids moved away again, resuming their previous exercise.

“Fifteen minutes left,” Dean said, and Jimmy agreed. “Hockey?”

 

* * *

 

 

Half an hour later Dean left the training center, skates tucked away safely in his bag. The hockey match was a success, and his team won – of course he did, Jimmy sucked at that game. He hadn’t had so much fun in a long time. Those kids were amazing – sadly they were still trying to play matchmaker, pushing Jimmy and Dean close all the time. Dean didn’t really understand why they thought that there was anything beyond friendship between him and his best friend, so that was why he asked a few of the kids while they were all catching a breath on the ground.

All they had said was: “For two men, you two look cute together.”

At that, Dean had frowned. When he had been a teenager, being gay was viewed as a sin, and they weren’t accepted in society so easily, having to keep their orientation secret all their life. And now kids saw gay wherever it wasn’t.

He and Jimmy had agreed to ignore it. They both simply didn’t feel that way, only seeing each other as good friends. Yes, Dean had to admit that Jimmy was quite good looking, but he never meant anything like that in the romantic way. It was just a fact, like the fact that he knew Sam was quite the catch too, though he would never admit that to him, of course.

Tomorrow the training-center would be closed for another two days, and Jimmy’s next lesson would only be the Wednesday. It worked perfectly with his schedule, the weekdays working at the garage from nine ‘till four, and from six ‘till seven skating.

When he was in his car, he saw Jimmy come out as well – he had been talking to the parents of one of the kids. Jimmy had been brought by his wife today – because she needed the car to go to her parents with Claire – so him and Dean had agreed to drive together, having a beer and watch TV at Jimmy’s place.

Now that he thought about it, he _did_ do a lot of things with Jimmy lately. They almost spent every day together, hanging out after work, teasing each other during training. They did indeed act as if they were dating. But, in the end, they both knew they didn’t, so why change that when they were so comfortable around each other?

“One of the kids baked me a pie today,” suddenly came from the passenger seat. Dean turned around in surprise. He hadn’t heard the door open! When did Jimmy even get in? He saw Jimmy sitting next to him with indeed a round box on his lap, looking at him expecting some sort of answer.

“Pie?” Dean asked, remembering what the man had been talking about. Pie, his one true love.

“Ah, I knew you would like it. Guess what’s for dessert, then!” Jimmy joked, putting his seatbelt on and waiting for Dean to start the car.

In comparison to Castiel, it was easier to spend the drive home with Jimmy. Dean could talk all he wanted without being afraid to offend him or something. He could turn on the music – because Jimmy knew the rule ‘Driver picks music, shotgun shuts his cakehole’.

At Jimmy’s place they ordered pizza before settling themselves in the living room. Jimmy was zapping through the stations, and Dean was drinking from his beer, watching the channels pass one by one.

“You know your students think we’re dating, right?” Dean asked after a while. Jimmy didn’t look up, but just shrugged.

“Yeah, something about us ‘looking’ like a good couple or whatever,” he said, finally stopping at some sort of action movie. It had Bruce Willis in it, so it was probably Die Hard or whatever. Dean didn’t really care at the moment. “I want to see if they would do the same if it were Cas teaching them. Would they notice?”

“Well, does Cas feel comfortable around children?” Dean asked, knowing very well that they didn’t mean any of this. Jimmy would never ask his brother to take over one of his lessons.

“Yeah, children are okay,” Jimmy said, a little bit distracted for a moment, looking at some picture on the wall. Dean followed his gaze, and saw a family portrait – or well, more a brother-portrait. Jimmy seemed a little bit sad, as if he were remembering something from the past.

“Would you mind if I invite him over tonight? I just feel as if I don’t spend enough time with him lately,” Jimmy asked all of the sudden, still looking at the photograph. Dean shrugged.

“Okay, but as soon as he feels uncomfortable, I’m leaving,” Dean warned. “Don’t surprise him, let him know I’m here and let him choose.”

Jimmy nodded shortly, walking back to the kitchen where he left his phone, and then returning with it. Dean watched how his friend looked up Castiel’s phone number, pressed call, and then put the mobile against his ear.

It took a few seconds before someone picked up the phone. Dean heard some grumbling from the other side of the line, and remembered how Castiel’s voice was so much lower than his brother’s.

“Yeah, hey Cas, do you want to hang out?” Jimmy asked, and Dean rolled his eyes. He gestured at himself when Jimmy looked at him, and the other man just held his hand up in a waiting gesture. Dean just shook his head.

“Yeah, you know, Dean is at my place, and I thought maybe you could join us? We could watch a movie or whatever?” Jimmy then added, and now Dean nodded, content that his friend listened to him. It was quiet then on the other line, and Jimmy frowned. “Cas?” he then asked. In a result, that low rumbling came back, talking a lot now. Jimmy added a few uhu’s and yeah’s, and when Castiel had finally finished “No that’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Then he hung up.

“So that’s a no?” Dean asked.

“No, we have to pick him up,” Jimmy said. Dean laughed.

 

* * *

 

 

Jimmy had asked Dean to go and get Castiel while Jimmy warmed up the pizza’s that had just arrived again. Dean had objected, said that he had promised not to push his brother again, but then Jimmy had just said that Cas had asked: “Is it possible that Dean comes to pick me up, then?” And okay, if Cas asked for it himself, it wouldn’t be that bad.

When Castiel got in the car, they simply greeted shortly, nodding at each other and then they didn’t say anything again. This time Dean kept the music on, but just on low volume, and Castiel was tapping his fingers along with the beat. His expression was a neutral one, so Dean wasn’t really sure what the man was thinking.

“April asked me out again today,” Castiel then suddenly said, and Dean almost went through the red light in surprise. He looked at the passenger who looked so much like his best friend, and saw that the man was just staring in front of him. “I don’t understand why.”

“Because she likes you, maybe?” Dean asked cautiously, and Castiel pressed his lips together and shook his head.

“No, I mean I already told her multiple times I’m not interested in dating and relationships.”

“Maybe she just wants sex, then?” Dean tried, and at that Castiel turned to look at him in horror. His hands were balled into fists again and it seemed like he was keeping his breath.

“I don’t do that, either,” he then said in a whisper, and at that Dean laughed.

“Eh, well, you don’t have to. I did one-night-stands in college and a few years after, but in the end… ah, well, I don’t even know what, you just grow tired of it.” And it was true. Dean hadn’t picked up a girl in about one year now. That last one – Dean couldn’t remember her name anymore – had been the most embarrassing thing in his life so he completely shut it out.

Thinking about it made him shiver, and when he was thinking straight again, he noticed that Castiel was looking at him in a questioning stare.

“How did you and Jimmy meet?” Castiel then suddenly asked. Dean was taken aback by the question, not really expecting that. But, okay, it was normal for him to be curious, right?

“Skating,” Dean said, as if that answered everything. When he saw Castiel still looking at him, he figured it wasn’t enough for him, obviously. “I moved here three years ago to be closer to my brother and his wife. Jimmy was already teaching at the training center, and one day, I just came to train and we started talking,” he explained. “We kept on running into each other, and before we knew it we were best friends.”

“That doesn’t sound very special,” Castiel said softly. Dean raised an eyebrow while looking at where he was parking his car. They had arrived, and as soon as the car was stopped, the two walked out.

“Ah, well, you know his students think we’re actually dating? So weird…” Dean said, shaking his head. Why did he just say that to his best friend’s twin brother? What was wrong with him? Dean locked up the car, and started walking to the front door. He didn’t have to ring the bell, he knew Jimmy left the door open.

“Honey, I’m home,” Dean said jokingly, and from the kitchen came sarcastic laughter. When then Jimmy appeared, he had that annoyed look on his face.

“Your jokes will never, _ever_ , be funny, Dean Winchester,” he said, walking up to his brother and taking him in his arms. Castiel froze on the spot, but didn’t make any attempt to move away. When Jimmy finally let go, he looked at his brother with a soft expression. “How are you doing, Cas?”

“I’m fine Jimmy,” was Cas’s short answer. His eyes were sealed on the floor, and his hands were balled in fists again. Jimmy didn’t seem to notice the tension, but Dean sure as hell did.

“Hey, uh, how about we eat some of that pizza and set ourselves in front of that TV of yours, yeah?”


End file.
